Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.7% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $85.06 and last traded at $85.05. 5,768,096 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 15,867,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One 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, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.56. 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 company has a market cap of $683.07 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This 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 valued at $17,657,316 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock worth $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $492,000. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,692,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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