Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.5% Following Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was down 1.5% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $95.12 and last traded at $95.78. Approximately 10,845,730 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 16,160,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.21.

Specifically, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

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 quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 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.