Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 1% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares fell 1% on Monday . The company traded as low as $103.60 and last traded at $104.04. 14,096,845 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 15,084,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.87.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.05. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $834.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.