Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $87.08 and last traded at $86.79. 3,711,678 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 15,840,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $688.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $95.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Swedbank AB raised its position in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $336,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 118,663 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,540 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,294,000 after buying an additional 4,128 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.