Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $94.57 and last traded at $95.91. Approximately 4,355,510 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 15,499,403 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $736.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.