Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 3.5% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 3.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $87.55 and last traded at $88.51. Approximately 10,275,712 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 15,644,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $566,000. TFR Capital LLC. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $338,000. Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,897 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,966,000 after buying an additional 1,171 shares during the period. 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.