Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.3% Following Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was down 0.3% on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $67.54 and last traded at $67.54. Approximately 2,017,448 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 17,957,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.71.

Specifically, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total value of $895,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,025,828. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,499,762 shares of company stock worth $951,294,838. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.41.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $542.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.41.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 183.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Walmart by 212.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $844,514,000 after buying an additional 9,544,958 shares during the period. 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.