Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.2% Higher

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 0.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $65.52 and last traded at $65.36. 2,942,774 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 18,632,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Europe raised their price objective on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.01.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $522.48 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 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 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 35.52%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,733,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,280,394. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.