Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.1%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price traded up 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $59.67 and last traded at $59.32. 4,260,540 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 18,892,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe lifted their price objective on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.54.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $475.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $1,559,298.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,274,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,855,391.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $1,559,298.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,274,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,855,391.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,032,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,559,224. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 215.0% during the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 142,960 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,602,000 after buying an additional 97,575 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $325,000. Iyo Bank Ltd. grew its holdings in Walmart by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Iyo Bank Ltd. now owns 127,620 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,679,000 after buying an additional 85,080 shares during the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 198.7% during the 1st quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 127,583 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,677,000 after buying an additional 84,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 740.3% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 4,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.