Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.4% Higher

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price traded up 0.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $60.28 and last traded at $60.09. 6,191,632 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 18,794,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.76. The stock has a market cap of $484.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.42, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,990,016 shares of company stock valued at $1,694,287,237 in the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $558,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 33,290 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 220.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,454 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753 shares during the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 4,441 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 10,607 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 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.