Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price rose 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $97.91 and last traded at $97.90. Approximately 4,830,954 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 17,298,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value 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 approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.