Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares rose 1.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $92.65 and last traded at $92.77. Approximately 5,030,668 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 17,724,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Three equities research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Walmart Trading Up 2.3 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.09. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $747.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,022 shares of company stock valued at $16,618,422 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 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.