Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.3% on Insider Selling

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) fell 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $86.28 and last traded at $88.55. 13,134,151 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 16,985,375 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.76.

Specifically, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $670.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50-day moving average is $94.01 and its 200 day moving average is $89.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,289,419,000 after buying an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 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.