Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $79.76 and last traded at $80.03. Approximately 1,497,509 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 17,204,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.96.

Walmart Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $647.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,335,272 shares of company stock worth $958,101,276 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800,743 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $142,973,000 after buying an additional 83,376 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,230 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Walmart by 1.9% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 18,693 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 48.2% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 17,842 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 5,805 shares during the period. Finally, Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 29.0% in the third quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 8,136 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.