Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded down 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $94.32 and last traded at $94.72. 3,949,054 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 16,841,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $750.32 billion, a PE ratio of 38.33, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,412 shares of company stock worth $12,228,259 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by 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.