Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Down 3.5% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• WMT stock fell 3.5% mid‑day after news of insider selling, trading as low as $121.65 and last at $123.31 on volume of ~28.54M shares (below the ~35.37M average).
• Insider sales disclosed: EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares for ~$2.56M (a 3.95% reduction in his stake) and Director C. Douglas McMillon sold 19,416 shares for ~$2.46M, both reported in SEC filings.
• Analyst view and results: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $134.42 target; Walmart slightly beat Q results (EPS $0.74 vs. $0.73), revenue rose 5.6% y/y, and FY2027 guidance is $2.75–2.85 EPS.

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) dropped 3.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $121.65 and last traded at $123.31. Approximately 28,540,987 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 35,368,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.81.

Specifically, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total value of $2,555,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 486,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,203,571.56. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $2,460,201.36. Following the sale, the director owned 4,023,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $509,780,812.39. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. HSBC cut Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.42.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s underlying omnichannel and e‑commerce execution is being highlighted as a strength versus peers, supporting the long‑term bull case. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart stands to benefit if PhonePe’s IPO meets expectations — reports that PhonePe may target a $9–10.5B valuation could lift perceived value of Walmart’s India/fintech exposure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Supply‑chain/retailer execution pickup: Walmart named partners and new store formats (next‑gen Supercenter openings) reinforce the omnichannel rollout and store investments. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: WMT management presented at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference — useful detail for investors but transcript contains no single headline surprise. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: New market jargon (“HALO” / “anything‑but‑AI” trade) is circulating; its direct impact on WMT is unclear but frames sector rotation debates that can affect defensive retail names. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Primary near‑term driver of the down move: analysts and market writeups point to Walmart’s cautious forward outlook from recent results plus renewed focus on a ~ $100M judgment/settlement tied to its Spark Driver delivery program — the settlement raises compliance, reputational and operating‑cost questions. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Tariff and import exposure: analysis flags that rising trade frictions/tariffs could pressure margins given Walmart’s import footprint. This is a tangible cost risk if not passed to consumers. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive rotation: renewed investor enthusiasm for Target’s turnaround may siphon discretionary retail allocations and weigh on WMT’s relative performance. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed (EVP John Rainey sold 20,000 shares) — small in absolute terms but often read as a near‑term negative signal by some investors. Read More.

Walmart Trading Down 3.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $121.39 and a 200 day moving average of $110.68. The firm has a market cap of $982.80 billion, a PE ratio of 45.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 34.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,123,138,000 after purchasing an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock worth $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $42,223,116,000 after buying an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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