Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 3.5% - Should You Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shares fell 3.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $87.55 and last traded at $88.51. 10,275,712 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 15,644,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $103.20.

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Walmart Stock 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $96.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.61. The stock has a market cap of $702.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. 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, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. 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.