Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Down 2.7% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shares dropped 2.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $115.38 and last traded at $115.78. Approximately 20,123,217 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 25,995,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.21. The company has a market capitalization of $921.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. 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, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $342,751.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 574,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,953,695.07. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.83, for a total value of $165,964.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 633,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,946,336.72. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 100,730 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,624 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 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.