Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 2.5% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $92.38 and last traded at $92.42. 8,658,189 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 16,634,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.78.

Specifically, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business's 50-day moving average is $95.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.17. The firm has a market cap of $778.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for 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 expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its position in Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $541,000. 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.