Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 1.3% on Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $86.28 and last traded at $88.55. Approximately 13,134,151 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 16,985,375 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.76.

Specifically, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.67. The stock has a market cap of $670.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,289,419,000 after buying an additional 6,860,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

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.