Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.87.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.80. The company has a market capitalization of $833.31 billion, a PE ratio of 42.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.