Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $97.91 and last traded at $97.90. Approximately 4,830,954 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 17,298,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 1.9 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.44. The firm has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.