Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.6% Following Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) traded down 0.6% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $59.14 and last traded at $59.34. 2,690,783 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 18,464,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.71.Specifically, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 46.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $482.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.03 and a 200 day moving average of $55.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Walmart's payout ratio is 43.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 183.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after acquiring an additional 18,865,484 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after buying an additional 2,150,351 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.