Insider Selling: Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Insider Sells C$1,535,409.28 in Stock

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) insider Mark William Henry Wilson sold 24,496 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.68, for a total transaction of C$1,535,409.28.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 1.4%

Loblaw Companies stock traded up C$0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting C$63.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,346,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,454. Loblaw Companies Limited has a 1-year low of C$52.92 and a 1-year high of C$69.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 151.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$63.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$63.25. The stock has a market cap of C$73.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.06.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 EPS for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 4.32%.The company had revenue of C$15.05 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.1552 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 24.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on L shares. Scotia lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Securities raised shares of Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. National Bank Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$71.00.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw is Canada’s food and pharmacy leader, and the nation’s largest retailer. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, financial services and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,800 corporate franchised and Associate-owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees and Associate-owners employ more than 220,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada’s largest private sector employers. Loblaw’s purpose – Live Life Well® – puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the company’s stores.