Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.5% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) fell 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $67.10 and last traded at $67.45. 6,097,679 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 17,300,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.46.

Specifically, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,787,946.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,787,946.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock valued at $954,455,147. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.09.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $538.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.33 and a 200 day moving average of $62.60.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 6,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 16,878 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,661,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $401,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 215,002 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,895,000 after acquiring an additional 57,870 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.