Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.6% Following Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) was down 0.6% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $85.07 and last traded at $86.71. Approximately 9,228,803 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 17,043,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.26.

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

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Down 4.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.01 and a 200 day moving average of $89.59. The company has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th 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. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by 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.