Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 3.4% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares shot up 3.4% on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $96.60 and last traded at $96.83. 8,350,363 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 16,969,725 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.67.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given 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 0.98%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $772.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.