Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Raises Dividend to $0.24 Per Share

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.235 per share by the retailer on Monday, April 7th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This is a 13.3% increase from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Walmart has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 53 years. Walmart has a dividend payout ratio of 31.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Walmart to earn $3.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $687.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.93.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Walmart stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.