Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.5% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $59.39 and last traded at $59.51. Approximately 2,934,711 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 18,417,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.82.

Specifically, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMT. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.94.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $488.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 39.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 347,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,736,000 after buying an additional 98,712 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in Walmart by 17.5% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 11,418 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Walmart by 9.5% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 44,960 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,190,000 after purchasing an additional 3,914 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.