Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 1.5% on Analyst Upgrade

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 were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 18,347,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.87.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at $39,253,888.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631 over the last 90 days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,351,000 after purchasing an additional 15,448 shares during the last quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 26.6% in the third quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 252,600 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,398,000 after purchasing an additional 53,000 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 32.5% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $338,602,000 after purchasing an additional 518,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 48,468 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,751,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $488.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.12.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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.