Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 1.7%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price fell 1.7% on Friday . The company traded as low as $68.59 and last traded at $68.61. 5,113,081 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 17,251,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.60.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.19. The company has a market capitalization of $548.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,537,863 shares of company stock valued at $954,247,577. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 19,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,337,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 28,319 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.5% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 33,258 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,252,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 366,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.8% in the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 52,544 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.