Michelle ThompsonWalmart is making its stocks more affordable for investors by implementing a 3-for-1 stock split, as disclosed by the company on Tuesday. This means that a single share will be divided into multiple shares. Under Walmart’s plan, individuals who possess shares as of February 22 will receive two additional Walmart shares for each share they currently own.
Following the stock split, which will be effective after markets close on February 23, the price of Walmart (WMT) shares will be divided by three when markets reopen on Monday, February 26. This means that investors will still have the same overall value of stock, but they will hold three times the number of shares they had before, and each of these new shares will be priced at one-third of the original price.
Walmart mentioned in a statement that their decision to go with a 3-for-1 split was partially aimed at making it easier for employees to purchase shares. Currently, Walmart’s shares are trading near an all-time high, nearly reaching $170 in November.
In addition to this, Walmart recently announced an increase in the average pay for its store managers, raising it to over $117,000, which is a little over a 9% increase.
Walmart is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter earnings results on February 20, and analysts surveyed by FactSet expect the retailer to report growth in earnings per share, revenue, and profits compared to the previous quarter.
