Walmart Inc. Declares Dividend of $0.24 (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) declared a dividend on Saturday, May 3rd, investing.com reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of 0.235 per share by the retailer on Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th.

Walmart has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 53 consecutive years. Walmart has a dividend payout ratio of 32.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Walmart to earn $3.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $98.46. The company had a trading volume of 4,926,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,778,549. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.65. Walmart has a 12-month low of $59.44 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $787.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Walmart stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.94.

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.