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

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) fell 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $92.35 and last traded at $92.44. 2,772,492 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 14,462,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Down 0.4 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $91.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.87. The stock has a market cap of $746.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.12, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,928 shares of company stock worth $8,978,123. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.