Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.3% - Here's Why

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shot up 0.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $95.76 and last traded at $95.48. 2,616,867 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 21,285,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $90.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $765.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total transaction of $2,743,189.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,003,883.93. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 169,657 shares of company stock worth $15,984,929 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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.

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.