Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Sets New 12-Month High at $65.32

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $65.32 and last traded at $65.32, with a volume of 846115 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.01.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $525.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company's 50 day moving average is $60.56 and its 200-day moving average is $56.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. Walmart's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total transaction of $860,755,966.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total transaction of $860,755,966.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,743,215 shares of company stock worth $1,587,502,040. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Motco raised its stake in Walmart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Oak Family Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 201.4% during the 1st quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 112,816 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,788,000 after acquiring an additional 75,383 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer's stock worth $12,351,000 after acquiring an additional 15,448 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,340,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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.