Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded up 0.3% during trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $110.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $99.16 and last traded at $98.88. 2,340,342 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 17,766,697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.55.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $111.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total value of $2,743,189.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,003,883.93. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $214,214.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,607,751.66. This represents a 0.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,124,000. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $790.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.