Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.2% Higher

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was up 0.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $65.52 and last traded at $65.36. Approximately 2,942,774 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 18,632,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.01.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $522.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 35.52%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,733,075 shares of company stock worth $1,237,280,394. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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.