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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price fell 2.8% on Monday . The company traded as low as $88.91 and last traded at $89.65. 8,301,295 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 17,046,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.44. The company has a market capitalization of $744.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly 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. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,412 shares of company stock worth $12,228,259 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.