Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 1.3% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $59.16 and last traded at $59.46. 3,086,475 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 18,563,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.24.

Specifically, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,016,140 shares of company stock worth $1,695,868,391 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $474.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.01 and a 200-day moving average of $55.92.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Walmart by 212.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after buying an additional 9,544,958 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 184.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,639,240 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $459,653,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087,119 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Walmart

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.