Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 2.2% - Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 2.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $91.78 and last traded at $92.57. 7,742,388 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 15,541,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Down 4.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $703.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.53.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in 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 period. Rovin Capital UT ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $237,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 132,180 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,674,000 after buying an additional 10,090 shares during the period. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 15.4% in the third quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 4,292 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. 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.