Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.8% – Here’s Why

by · The Cerbat Gem

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) fell 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $79.78 and last traded at $79.79. 1,721,589 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 17,277,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.32.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMT

Walmart Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $643.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.64, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,239,034.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total transaction of $926,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,648,499. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after buying an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 16.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,102,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246,656 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,095,946,000 after purchasing an additional 834,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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