Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.1%

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shot up 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $59.33 and last traded at $59.14. 2,794,344 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 18,762,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $59.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $482.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 104,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,846,536 over the last three months. Insiders own 46.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 222.7% in the first quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 112,335 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,759,000 after purchasing an additional 77,524 shares during the period. Keene & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 199.5% during the first quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 71,814 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,321,000 after acquiring an additional 47,834 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 193.5% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 9,479 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 6,249 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 192.5% during the 1st quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 69,185 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,163,000 after purchasing an additional 45,529 shares during the period. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the retailer's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 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.