Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 2.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded down 2.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $91.78 and last traded at $92.57. 7,742,388 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 15,541,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Down 3.1 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.19 and a 200 day moving average of $88.35. The company has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 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.