Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 1.6% After Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $90.13 and last traded at $90.21. 2,193,243 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 16,982,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.66.

Specifically, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.69.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $727.58 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $2,072,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 45.0% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.