Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.9% - Here's Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $92.11 and last traded at $92.38. Approximately 4,569,985 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 21,769,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.58.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $91.09 and its 200-day moving average is $90.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $767.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) 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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 10.9% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 2,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $504,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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.