Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of 0.235 per share by the retailer on Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th.

Walmart has increased its dividend by an average of 4.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 52 years. Walmart has a payout ratio of 30.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Walmart to earn $3.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Walmart Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $94.70. The company had a trading volume of 34,962,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,282,283. The stock has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, 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 has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $95.63 and its 200-day moving average is $86.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Truist Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.