Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas Sells 17,600 Shares

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.11 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.17. The stock has a market cap of $772.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.88, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.20 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.3% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Burford Brothers Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the third quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 24,300 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,962,000 after buying an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 28,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,303,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $642,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.