Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.3% on Insider Selling

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) were down 0.3% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $80.81 and last traded at $80.94. Approximately 1,551,255 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 17,118,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.22.

Specifically, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Truist Financial raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.96.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $649.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.31.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 10.6% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 94,331 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,617,000 after buying an additional 9,033 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 738,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,612,000 after purchasing an additional 28,335 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,538 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Walmart by 6.4% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 171,701 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,865,000 after buying an additional 10,395 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.