Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, February 22, 2019

Article Excerpt

WALMART INC., $99.55, New York symbol WMT, is the world’s biggest retailer, with 11,300 outlets in 28 countries. The company will increase its quarterly dividend by 1.9%. Starting with the April 2019 payment, investors will receive $0.53 a share instead of $0.52. The new annual rate of $2.12 yields 2.1%. Walmart has now increased its annual dividend rate each year for the past 46 years. In its fiscal 2019 fourth quarter, ended January 31, 2019, Walmart’s sales rose 1.9%, to $138.8 billion from $136.3 billion a year earlier. That matched the consensus forecast. If you exclude the negative impact of currency rates, sales gained 3.1%. In the quarter, U.S. online sales jumped 43%. As a result, the company’s U.S. same-store sales rose 4.2%. Walmart’s overall earnings soared 69.5%, to $3.69 billion from $2.18 billion. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings improved 74.0%, to $1.27 from $0.73. However, a $1.0 billion charge on the early repayment of debt depressed its year-earlier earnings. If you exclude…