Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.8% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s stock price was down 1.8% on Monday . The company traded as low as $112.14 and last traded at $112.20. Approximately 17,703,563 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 25,638,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $892.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $118.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.11.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 87,145 shares of company stock valued at $10,691,920. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 193.0% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.