Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.3% - Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) was up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $88.89 and last traded at $88.94. Approximately 7,758,505 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 15,709,095 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $689.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.61.

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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.