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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $82.32 and last traded at $82.54. Approximately 1,427,979 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 16,871,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.83.

Walmart Trading Down 0.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.27 and a 200 day moving average of $70.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $660.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.92, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,784,857. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 173.5% during the 1st quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 4,791 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 3,039 shares during the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 186.8% during the first quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 784,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,218,000 after acquiring an additional 511,086 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 197.1% during the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 13,632 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 9,043 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in Walmart by 200.0% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 9,036 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 6,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritas Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 225.5% in the first quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares in the last quarter. 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.