Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.2475 per share by the retailer on Monday, April 6th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This is a 5.3% increase from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24.

Walmart has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 53 consecutive years. Walmart has a dividend payout ratio of 32.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Walmart to earn $3.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Walmart Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $124.87. 42,943,075 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,484,145. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $119.05 and a 200-day moving average of $108.98. Walmart has a 12 month low of $79.81 and a 12 month high of $134.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $995.24 billion, a PE ratio of 43.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $119.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $123.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.59.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.