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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $59.39 and last traded at $59.51. Approximately 2,934,711 shares traded 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, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total transaction of $860,755,966.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631 in the last quarter. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.06 and a 200 day moving average of $56.02. 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 $479.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 183.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after buying an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $3,674,652,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150,351 shares in the last quarter. 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.