Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 2.2% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded up 2.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $87.53 and last traded at $87.24. 6,573,711 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 15,794,538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has 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 has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.74 and a 200 day moving average of $88.80. The stock has a market cap of $705.85 billion, a PE ratio of 36.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for 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%. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $231,000. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC raised its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 177,552 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 15,518 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.