Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 1.5% Following Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shares fell 1.5% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $95.12 and last traded at $95.78. 10,845,730 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 16,160,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.21.

Specifically, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.63 and a 200-day moving average of $86.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.44%.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock worth $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. X Square Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the third quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 34,460 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $1,082,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 11.0% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,000 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,156,000 after purchasing an additional 10,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.2% during the third quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,430 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.