Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.7% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price dropped 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $90.45 and last traded at $90.78. Approximately 2,641,990 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 10,554,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.95.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $736.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.