Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 6.4% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was down 6.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $96.68 and last traded at $97.29. Approximately 29,126,897 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 88% from the average daily volume of 15,524,046 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.00.

Specifically, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.44. The company has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, 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 current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.44%.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $786,000. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 75,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897 shares during the last quarter. Griffith & Werner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $285,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $1,309,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.