Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Down 3.4% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s stock price dropped 3.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $121.79 and last traded at $122.49. Approximately 15,832,503 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 30,224,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

Walmart Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $976.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.70, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.10, for a total transaction of $1,694,437.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,308,944.40. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at $49,772,492.88. The trade was a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,825,793. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $1,709,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $121,168,000 after purchasing an additional 229,220 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $104,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,026 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 293,866 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,286,000 after purchasing an additional 14,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.