Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.9%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $60.16 and last traded at $60.17. 17,535,100 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 0% from the average session volume of 17,550,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $484.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $58.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.93, for a total transaction of $158,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 497,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,318,718. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of Walmart 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock worth $1,693,978,567 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after buying an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,674,652,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 112,181.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,240,599,000 after buying an additional 22,834,564 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Walmart by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,190,194,000 after buying an additional 2,150,351 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.