Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to Issue $0.24 Quarterly Dividend

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.235 per share by the retailer on Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th.

Walmart has increased its dividend by an average of 4.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 52 consecutive years. Walmart has a dividend payout ratio of 30.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Walmart to earn $2.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded down $2.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $94.70. The stock had a trading volume of 28,528,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,677,701. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.62 and its 200-day moving average is $86.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

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.