Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Down 1% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shares were down 1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $112.07 and last traded at $112.53. 16,329,516 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 25,712,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $895.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $119.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.07.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total value of $1,628,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 661,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,021,470.96. This represents a 1.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 103,170 shares of company stock valued at $12,692,133. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 193.0% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

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.