Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.5% Higher

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $60.44 and last traded at $60.41. 2,031,203 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 19,289,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.60.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.32. The firm has a market cap of $484.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 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 shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the transaction, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the business’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 $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $180,780.00. Following the transaction, 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 29,032,265 shares of company stock worth $1,696,559,224. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,674,652,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 112,181.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,240,599,000 after purchasing an additional 22,834,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Walmart by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.