John D. Rainey Sells 2,200 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $83.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $666.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.