Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1% Higher - Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) rose 1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $86.26 and last traded at $84.03. Approximately 13,770,377 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 17,168,483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have 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.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock 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 company has a market cap of $744.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.88.

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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.