Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price traded down 0.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $80.94 and last traded at $81.04. 1,280,824 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 17,056,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.96.

Walmart Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $650.86 billion, a PE ratio of 42.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at $277,589,163.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 189.6% during the first quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 195.3% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 332,907 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,089,000 after acquiring an additional 220,168 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 195.4% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,303 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,831 shares during the period. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 159,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,567,000 after purchasing an additional 106,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forbes J M & Co. LLP boosted its stake in Walmart by 194.5% during the 1st quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 227,912 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,713,000 after purchasing an additional 150,513 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.