Walton family sells $1.5B of Walmart stock

Members of the Walton family sold roughly $1.5 billion worth of Walmart Inc. stock at the end of last week as shares hovered near a record high.

The Walton Family Holdings Trust sold about 8.82 million shares between Feb. 21 and Feb. 23, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings from late Friday. The notifications were filed on behalf of Alice, Jim and Rob Walton.

Walmart shares have climbed about 13% this year, outperforming the 3.7% advance in the S&P Retail Select Industry Index. The shares closed at an all-time high on Feb. 20 after its fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street’s expectations and as executives said it’s gaining market share. The company’s fiscalyear outlook was also better than some analysts had anticipated.

The shares rose $1.08, or 1.9%, to close Monday at $59.60. Monday was the first day of trading for Walmart after its 3-for-1 stock split took effect.

The transaction comes amid a flurry of high-profile stock sales in recent weeks. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and his family sold $150 million worth of the bank’s stock last week in the first sale since he took the helm 18 years ago. Jeff Bezos also recently sold 50 million Amazon.com Inc. shares in multiple transactions as part of a plan he disclosed earlier this month.

The Walton family owns about 45% of Walmart’s outstanding shares through the trust and their main invest- ment vehicle, Walton Enterprises, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Alice, Jim and Rob Walton have a com- bined fortune of $274 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

A media representative for Walmart didn’t respond to a request for comment.