Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1.3% Higher – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $89.11 and last traded at $88.90. 6,727,062 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 20,173,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $720.55 billion, a PE ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,652 shares of company stock valued at $16,590,028 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.