Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.2% Following Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price dropped 0.2% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $80.40 and last traded at $80.41. Approximately 2,828,540 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 17,331,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.60.

Specifically, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,537,610,048.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $646.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position 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 worth $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,102,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.