Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Raised to Buy at DZ Bank

DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. DZ Bank currently has $110.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $96.88 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $95.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.23. Walmart has a 12-month low of $58.20 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $778.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skyline Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $2,782,000. Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 4,591 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,126,000. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,688,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.