Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.7% Higher - Here's What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shot up 0.7% during 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $95.74 and its 200-day moving average is $88.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value 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 approximately $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 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.