Executive VP of Global Governance Rachel Brand Sold A Bunch Of Shares In Walmart

We wouldn't blame Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Rachel Brand, the Executive VP of Global Governance recently netted about US$8.1m selling shares at an average price of US$97.03. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 30%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for Walmart

Walmart Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Rachel Brand is the biggest insider sale of Walmart shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$98.61). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 30% of Rachel Brand's stake.

In total, Walmart insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Walmart better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Walmart insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about US$7.0b. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Walmart Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Walmart shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. But it is good to see that Walmart is growing earnings. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Walmart. While conducting our analysis, we found that Walmart has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.