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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price fell 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $92.23 and last traded at $92.37. 2,143,548 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 17,028,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Melius Research started coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Down 1.2 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.81. The company has a market capitalization of $736.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,862,930.05. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,721,026 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,439,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 4,930 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 73,910 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,004,000 after buying an additional 13,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 15,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.