Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.5% on Insider Selling

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) traded down 0.5% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $76.49 and last traded at $76.58. 2,726,526 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 17,343,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.96.

Specifically, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $616.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.45 and a 200-day moving average of $65.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,045,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 3,164 shares of the retailer's stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $3,473,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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.