Brokerages Set Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Price Target at $61.75

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.75.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $60.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $485.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock worth $1,694,287,237. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 1,804 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 8.5% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 19,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 72.5% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 25,091 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,013,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 19.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. 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.