Shares of retail giant Walmart (NYSE:WMT) are set to begin trading on a post-split basis today after the company’s 3-for-1 stock split.
WMT had announced the stock split last month with the record date set for February 22. The stock split is expected to increase Walmart’s number of outstanding shares to 8.1 billion from 2.7 billion. Companies undertake dividend distributions, stock splits (or the issuance of bonus shares), and share repurchases to drive shareholder value. Impressively, Walmart has been doing all three for a while now.
The retailer repurchased 18.2 million shares worth $2.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2024. It had nearly $16.5 billion remaining under its present share repurchase authorization. Earlier this month, WMT hiked its annual dividend by 9% to $0.83 per share. This equates to a dividend of $2.49 per share on a pre-split basis.
Notably, this is the 51st consecutive year of an annual dividend hike from Walmart. The effect of these value-creation initiatives is also evident in the company’s stock price. Walmart’s share price has zoomed up by nearly 193% over the past ten years. The company currently operates nearly 4,700 locations in the U.S. It plans to build or convert nearly 150 stores over the next five years while remodeling about 650 stores over the coming 12 months.
Is Walmart a Buy, Sell, or a Hold?
Overall, the Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on Walmart. Notably, Analysts’ views on the stock could see revisions following its stock split.
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