Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Down 1.7% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s stock price dropped 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $118.02 and last traded at $119.02. Approximately 57,290,405 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 74% from the average daily volume of 32,864,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

Walmart Trading Down 1.7%

The stock has a market cap of $948.88 billion, a PE ratio of 43.44, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $123.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.10, for a total value of $1,694,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 591,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,308,944.40. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 261,153 shares of company stock valued at $32,005,084. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 9,648.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after buying an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $592,848,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.