Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.2% on Insider Selling

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was down 0.2% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $80.40 and last traded at $80.41. Approximately 2,828,540 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 17,331,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.60.

Specifically, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,537,610,048.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.51 and a 200 day moving average of $66.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $646.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 192.1% during the first 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. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Walmart by 189.4% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.