Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 2.6%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 2.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $66.55 and last traded at $67.09. Approximately 6,225,982 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 18,034,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.97.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $549.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.05.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,451,722 shares of company stock worth $947,990,915 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 42,101 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Management Associates NY lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Associates NY now owns 7,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 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.