Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-three analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $103.58.

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Whelan Financial grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded up $2.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $92.81. 25,491,591 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,636,254. Walmart has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $744.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $92.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.