Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.2%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price was down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $60.04 and last traded at $60.08. Approximately 2,240,276 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 18,757,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $484.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.70. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,990,016 shares of company stock valued at $1,694,287,237 over the last quarter. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Seven Mile Advisory boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.