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

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) were up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $95.98 and last traded at $95.44. Approximately 3,530,346 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 15,507,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $768.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $96.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.03.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.