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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 3.4% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $96.60 and last traded at $96.83. 8,350,363 shares changed hands 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One 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, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 3.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $778.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.89.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by 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.

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