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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $93.64. 29,382,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,230,830. The firm has a market capitalization of $752.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.71. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.18 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.