Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Down 2.4% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) dropped 2.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $117.45 and last traded at $118.13. Approximately 21,645,436 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 26,101,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $940.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.45, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $125.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.96.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total value of $1,628,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 661,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,021,470.96. The trade was a 1.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 128,986 shares of company stock valued at $15,927,908 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.