Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Sells $1,661,792.00 in Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $785.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.10. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.18 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

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.