Brokerages Set Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Target Price at $61.75

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.75.

Several brokerages recently commented on WMT. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1 %

WMT stock opened at $60.16 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 1-year low of $48.34 and a 1-year high of $61.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares in the company, valued at $244,687,515.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock worth $1,694,287,237. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Seven Mile Advisory grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the third quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.