Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.24 Per Share

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of 0.235 per share by the retailer on Monday, April 7th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Walmart has raised its dividend by an average of 4.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 52 consecutive years. Walmart has a payout ratio of 26.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Walmart to earn $2.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.83 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.3%.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $103.90 on Thursday. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $57.60 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $834.69 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.