Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 2% – Should You Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price dropped 2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $85.52 and last traded at $85.77. Approximately 8,566,314 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 15,959,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $681.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 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.