Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 1.2%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price was up 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $59.70 and last traded at $59.58. Approximately 5,750,834 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 18,507,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Europe increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Walmart Price Performance

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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.95. The firm has a market cap of $482.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,674,652,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Walmart by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 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.