Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.5% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price was down 0.5% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $76.78 and last traded at $76.85. Approximately 2,489,047 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 17,363,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.24.

Specifically, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,765,104.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $71.45 and its 200 day moving average is $65.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $616.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. AHL Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 192.1% during the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $270,000. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after buying an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 290.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 200,947 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.