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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price was down 0.5% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $59.39 and last traded at $59.51. Approximately 2,934,711 shares traded hands during 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 Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares in the company, valued at $39,106,219,344.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe lifted their price objective on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.06. The company has a market capitalization of $482.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,351,000 after buying an additional 15,448 shares during the last quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 26.6% during the third quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 252,600 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,398,000 after buying an additional 53,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 32.5% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $338,602,000 after buying an additional 518,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 48,468 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,751,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.