Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 2.2% - Still a Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shares rose 2.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $93.87 and last traded at $93.17. Approximately 21,350,174 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average daily volume of 17,797,031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Up 2.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $91.52 and a 200-day moving average of $90.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.