Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price traded up 1.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $97.91 and last traded at $97.90. 4,830,954 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 17,298,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $778.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 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.