Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.3% on Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares fell 0.3% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $97.94 and last traded at $98.28. 4,666,199 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 17,475,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.61.

Specifically, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $787.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.73, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $172,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $854,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $173,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $220,445,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $2,284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.