Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $91.63 and last traded at $93.22. 9,019,381 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 16,915,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research 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, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $748.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,412 shares of company stock worth $12,228,259. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

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

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.