Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $91.63 and last traded at $93.22. Approximately 9,019,381 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 16,915,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.01. The firm has a market cap of $741.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,228,259. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.