Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $59.33 and last traded at $59.14. 2,794,344 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 18,762,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. 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. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Europe increased their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.64. The company has a market capitalization of $482.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,695,846,536 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. SOL Capital Management CO increased its stake in Walmart by 200.0% in the first quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 31,215 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 20,810 shares during the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.7% during the 1st quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 32,372 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 22,054 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,442.4% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 203,692 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,256,000 after buying an additional 190,486 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 191.2% during the first quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 43,111 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,594,000 after acquiring an additional 28,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 668.1% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 280,911 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,902,000 after acquiring an additional 244,340 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.