Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $79.61 and last traded at $79.70. Approximately 4,460,049 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 17,322,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,205,423 shares of company stock valued at $788,845,411 in the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.