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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares rose 1.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $88.89 and last traded at $88.94. Approximately 7,758,505 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 15,709,095 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $677.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.59.

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 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.