Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded up 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $87.08 and last traded at $86.79. 3,711,678 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 15,840,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $687.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $336,000. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 5,007 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 845.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 518,984 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $41,908,000 after acquiring an additional 464,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.