Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) traded up 0.3% during trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $110.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $99.16 and last traded at $98.88. 2,340,342 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 17,766,697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.55.

Several other research firms have also commented on WMT. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $90.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.65. The firm has a market cap of $791.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.