Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.3% Higher

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.54.

Walmart Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $59.32 and its 200-day moving average is $55.37. The firm has a market cap of $484.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued 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 (DPR) is currently 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,274,475 shares in the company, valued at $228,855,391.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 value of $1,559,298.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares in the company, valued at $6,086,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,032,265 shares of company stock worth $1,696,559,224 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1,490.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by 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.