Walmart Inc. (WMT) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 21st

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of 0.235 per share by the retailer on Monday, April 7th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This is a 13.3% increase from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Walmart has increased its dividend by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 53 years. Walmart has a dividend payout ratio of 31.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Walmart to earn $3.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Walmart Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. Walmart has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $687.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Walmart stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

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.