Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $86.11 and last traded at $85.62. 4,326,183 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 16,009,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.21.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.
Read Our Latest Report on Walmart
Walmart Price Performance
The company has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $94.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.32.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after buying an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.
About Walmart
(
Get Free Report)
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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