Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 2.8% – Should You Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares dropped 2.8% on Monday . The company traded as low as $88.91 and last traded at $89.65. Approximately 8,301,295 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 17,046,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $744.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,228,259. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 85,424 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after buying an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 65,133 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,259,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $318,000. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 3,048 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $303,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.