Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Given New $66.00 Price Target at Barclays

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James upped their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Stifel Europe boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Walmart from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $68.01.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $65.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $525.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart has a twelve month low of $48.34 and a twelve month high of $65.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total value of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,687,515.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,132,597,369.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,687,515.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,733,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,280,394. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Motco increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,191,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 201.4% during the 1st quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 112,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,788,000 after acquiring an additional 75,383 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,351,000 after acquiring an additional 15,448 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,340,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.