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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $101.48 and last traded at $102.01. Approximately 3,584,264 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 14,770,526 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.95.

Walmart Stock Up 1.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $825.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business's 50-day moving average is $94.07 and its 200-day moving average is $84.36. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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.