Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $86.11 and last traded at $85.62. 4,326,183 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 16,009,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 37.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during 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 buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.