Insider Selling: Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Sells 25,578 Shares of Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,425,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,943,051. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $69.04. The company has a market cap of $547.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital increased its position in Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.