Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1.5% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.5% on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $63.00 to $69.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $60.80 and last traded at $60.77. Approximately 4,379,830 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 18,347,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.87.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,755,339,000 after acquiring an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $3,674,652,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Walmart by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $60.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $488.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.38%.

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.