Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 1.4% - Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.4% on Monday . The company traded as low as $94.31 and last traded at $94.34. Approximately 5,469,486 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 16,866,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.11.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.08. The company has a market capitalization of $754.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,243,091 shares of company stock valued at $257,591,179 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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