Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 1.3% – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price rose 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $88.89 and last traded at $88.94. Approximately 7,758,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 15,709,095 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $677.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.59. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.