Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.1% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) fell 0.1% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $59.94 and last traded at $60.11. 2,137,106 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 18,660,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.16.

Specifically, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Stifel Europe raised their price objective on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.