Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.7% Higher

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $65.65 and last traded at $65.61. Approximately 3,630,343 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 18,672,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Europe increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.01.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $525.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $60.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 671,082,588 shares in the company, valued at $39,106,219,344.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,743,215 shares of company stock worth $1,587,502,040 in the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Mile Advisory boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.1% during the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 65 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.