Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP Sells $1,258,031.25 in Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $97.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $776.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $4,658,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

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.