Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.4% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) shot up 0.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $96.00 and last traded at $95.52. 3,155,036 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 17,772,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $777.93 billion, a PE ratio of 40.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.10. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 169,657 shares of company stock worth $15,984,929 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by 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.