Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.6% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $86.63 and last traded at $86.55. Approximately 6,808,691 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 16,873,539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $94.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.51. The firm has a market cap of $711.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,652 shares of company stock worth $16,590,028 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.