Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded down 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $102.77 and last traded at $102.77. 6,387,563 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 14,646,182 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.87.

Walmart Stock Down 6.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $781.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.17.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid 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 an increase from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 75,100 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897 shares during the period. Griffith & Werner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $285,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,309,000. Michels Family Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $533,000. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $1,326,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.