Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.3% on Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $97.94 and last traded at $98.28. 4,666,199 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 17,475,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.61.

Specifically, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.71. The firm has a market cap of $787.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $172,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $854,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $173,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $220,445,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.