Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $92.23 and last traded at $92.37. Approximately 2,143,548 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 17,028,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $742.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $88.16 and its 200-day moving average is $78.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total value of $242,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,862,930.05. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 101,163 shares of company stock worth $8,816,049. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

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.