Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.2%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Europe lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.78. The company has a market cap of $484.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock valued at $1,694,287,237. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $558,000. Bridge Advisory LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 21.4% in the third quarter. Bridge Advisory LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 4.2% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 45,731 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,314,000 after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 30,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,878,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 19,404 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 648 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.