Christopher James Nicholas Sells 17,600 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WMT traded down $1.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $93.64. The stock had a trading volume of 29,382,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,230,830. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.63 and its 200-day moving average is $86.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $752.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.18 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.