Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price traded down 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $95.62 and last traded at $96.06. 11,882,275 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 17,825,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.94.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in 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 last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 98.2% in the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.