Christopher James Nicholas Sells 17,600 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.18 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $95.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.89. The firm has a market cap of $752.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.43.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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