Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.6% - Here's Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shares traded down 0.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $84.73 and last traded at $85.09. 3,795,801 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 16,021,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

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 company has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average of $89.32.

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $270,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $538,000. Circle Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 7.3% during the third quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,748 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Walmart by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,820,606 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $470,014,000 after buying an additional 2,018,271 shares in the last quarter. 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.