Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 1.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $63.00 to $69.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $60.80 and last traded at $60.77. 4,379,830 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 18,347,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.87.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on WMT. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Europe upped their price objective on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.94.

Insider Activity at Walmart

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 transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 194.5% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 20,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 13,592 shares during the last quarter. New Republic Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 199.8% during the 1st quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 7,216 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Walmart by 208.2% in the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 22,815 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 15,412 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Walmart by 201.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 6,876 shares during the period. Finally, Keeler Thomas Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 188.9% during the first quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC now owns 80,295 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,831,000 after purchasing an additional 52,501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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 company has a market capitalization of $488.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.12.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Walmart Company Profile

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.