Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Sells $166,723.06 in Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.77, for a total transaction of $166,723.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 652,737 shares in the company, valued at $61,207,148.49. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $96.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.72. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.16 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $771.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth about $2,532,331,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 30.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,922,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.94.

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.