Insider Selling: Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) CEO Sells 29,124 Shares of Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

C Douglas Mcmillon also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 27th, C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80.
• On Thursday, January 23rd, C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88.

Walmart Trading Down 3.0 %

WMT traded down $2.67 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $87.10. 32,983,467 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,069,447. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.50. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $698.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.