Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $104.00, but opened at $98.78. Walmart shares last traded at $97.78, with a volume of 22,147,910 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.87.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.