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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price dropped 0.5% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $78.22 and last traded at $78.60. Approximately 5,128,081 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 17,344,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.03.

Specifically, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $74,215,640.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,537,610,048.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $628.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.07 and a 200 day moving average of $66.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

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