Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Sells $343,800.00 in Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $85.94 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.04. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $688.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

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.