Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) fell 0.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $92.35 and last traded at $92.44. 2,772,492 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 14,462,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $761.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $92.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.13.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % 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 the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.