Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1% Higher - Still a Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $99.22 and last traded at $98.42. Approximately 6,485,528 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 21,134,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Citigroup reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $789.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $90.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.33.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,657 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,929. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock worth $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $541,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $626,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 79,422 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,176,000 after buying an additional 7,738 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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