Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.6% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price fell 0.6% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $59.14 and last traded at $59.34. 2,690,783 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 18,464,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.71.

Specifically, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631 in the last three months. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Stifel Europe upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

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 firm has a market cap of $482.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.99.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.39%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.