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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $80.81 and last traded at $80.94. 1,551,255 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 17,118,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.22.

Specifically, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.96.

Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $650.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.39.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 207,599 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,764,000 after buying an additional 23,722 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $973,000. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 55,135 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 8.3% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 63,024 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,089,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.