Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Receives “Buy” Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reissued their buy rating on shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $100.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on WMT. Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.43.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $93.64 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $752.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart has a 12-month low of $58.18 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.44%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.