Daniel J. Bartlett Sells 1,600 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Walmart Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $97.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $781.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.25. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.60 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.87.

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.