Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.4% Higher

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $485.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares in the company, valued at $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,106,219,344.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock worth $1,694,287,237 over the last quarter. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 183.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after acquiring an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Walmart by 212.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after acquiring an additional 9,544,958 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 184.1% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $756,188,000 after acquiring an additional 8,144,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,639,240 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $459,653,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087,119 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.