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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial lifted 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. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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 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 MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

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’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.92. The firm 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 posted its earnings results 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 company 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, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Whelan Financial increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 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.