Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price rose 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $60.29 and last traded at $60.13. Approximately 2,973,726 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 19,086,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Europe upped their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.54.

Walmart Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $484.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $1,559,298.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,274,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,855,391.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,274,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $228,855,391.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.30, for a total transaction of $712,687.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 780,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,393,421.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,032,265 shares of company stock worth $1,696,559,224. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AMI Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in Walmart by 36.8% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,820 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 31.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,162 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 123.9% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 5,847 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 857,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $127,749,000 after purchasing an additional 13,985 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.