Insider Selling: Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Sells 1,778 Shares of Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.77, for a total transaction of $166,723.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 652,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,207,148.49. The trade was a 0.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $98.10. 20,006,197 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,854,770. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.87 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $784.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 98.2% in the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.94.

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.