Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.3%

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $60.29 and last traded at $60.13. 2,973,726 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 19,086,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.54.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $480.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.45 and a 200-day moving average of $55.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total transaction of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $1,559,298.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,274,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,855,391.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,032,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,559,224 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. AMI Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Walmart by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,820 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Walmart by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,162 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 857,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $127,749,000 after purchasing an additional 13,985 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.