Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 3.4% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shot up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $96.60 and last traded at $96.83. 8,350,363 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 16,969,725 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.67.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Trading Up 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $95.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.