Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.20.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triton Wealth Management PLLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 27,469 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,844,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $727,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,838,663 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $256,473,000 after purchasing an additional 521,911 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $85.53 on Friday. Walmart has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.56 and a 200 day moving average of $88.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $687.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.