Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.4%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $60.28 and last traded at $60.09. Approximately 6,191,632 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 18,794,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.75.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $59.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $485.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Walmart's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 530,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,565,756.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at $29,565,756.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock worth $1,694,287,237 over the last quarter. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer's stock worth $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 183.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after buying an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Walmart by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,190,194,000 after buying an additional 2,150,351 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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