Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the thirty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.20.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $84.36 on Friday. Walmart has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $677.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whelan Financial grew its position in Walmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.