Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.6% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $86.63 and last traded at $86.55. Approximately 6,808,691 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 16,873,539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Up 2.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $698.88 billion, a PE ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $94.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $1,711,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. M1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $701,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $6,679,000. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $400,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.