John D. Rainey Sells 2,200 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT traded down $2.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $87.10. The stock had a trading volume of 32,983,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,059,680. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $698.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $270,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,828,000. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 35,280 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $787,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

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.