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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) fell 0.5% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $76.78 and last traded at $76.85. 2,489,047 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 17,363,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.24.

Specifically, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $616.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.38.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,370,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Financial Co lifted its position in Walmart by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 4,076 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.