Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.5% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) dropped 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $91.83 and last traded at $92.61. Approximately 5,342,268 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 17,695,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $746.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $91.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.26.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock worth $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 10.9% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $504,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.