Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.4% Higher

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $60.28 and last traded at $60.09. Approximately 6,191,632 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 18,794,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. 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. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $484.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at $29,565,756.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,565,756.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,990,016 shares of company stock valued at $1,694,287,237 in the last quarter. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 212.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after buying an additional 9,544,958 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 184.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $756,188,000 after buying an additional 8,144,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,639,240 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $459,653,000 after acquiring an additional 5,087,119 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Company Profile

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.