Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Announces $0.24 Dividend

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

Walmart has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 53 years. Walmart has a payout ratio of 32.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE WMT traded up $1.32 on Friday, hitting $98.73. 16,026,369 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,851,074. The company's 50-day moving average price is $90.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.47. The company has a market capitalization of $789.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart has a 52-week low of $59.39 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,657 shares of company stock worth $15,984,929. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Walmart stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $8,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 26.76% of the stock is 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.