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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price dropped 0.5% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Europe increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of 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 report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.94.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.12. The company has a market capitalization of $488.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. 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 1.37%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in Walmart by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 54,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 36,030 shares during the period. Arnhold LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 142.7% in the first quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 12,114 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 7,122 shares in the last quarter. Anson Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter worth $304,000. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Walmart by 200.6% in the first quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,965 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 9,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Square LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 227.1% in the first quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 7,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 5,539 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.