If you're looking for a solid blue chip stock for your portfolio, consider Walmart (WMT -0.84%).

Why invest in Walmart? Let's start with its dividend, which recently yielded 0.9%. That may not seem huge, but it's not far from the recent yield of the S&P 500 index, and it's a payout that has been growing -- by about 6%, on average, over the past five years.

Image source: Getty Images.

It's also been a solid performer, growing fairly rapidly despite its enormous size. (Its market capitalization was recently $890 billion.) Over the past decade, its shares    averaged annual gains of 17%, and over the past 15 years, 14%. In its last quarter, Walmart posted revenue up 7.3% and operating income up 5%. The company is scheduled to report its second-quarter results on Aug. 20, so it's worth considering whether you want to buy before then -- in case boffo results drive the shares up.

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NASDAQ: WMT

Walmart

Today's Change

(-0.84%) $-0.87

Current Price

$102.73

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$826BMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.

Day's Range

$102.15 - $104.28

52wk Range

$95.42 - $135.16

Volume

32.5M

Avg Vol

24.9M

Gross Margin

26.75%

Dividend Yield

0.70%

A robust reason to consider Walmart is that the company has been adapting to the changing times. Its global e-commerce business, featuring deliveries and at-store pickups, saw revenue surge 26% year over year in the last quarter, with membership fees growing 17%. (Costco has been raking in billions annually from its membership fees, and Walmart is following suit -- though it doesn't require membership for its shoppers.)

Another plus for the company is that it's resilient in economic downturns and is less volatile than the overall market. So should a market crash or correction occur, potentially with a recession, people will still be shopping at Walmart -- and they may do so even more.

It's not all confetti and rainbows, though. There's also a reason to not invest in Walmart right now: Its shares seem overvalued. As of early August, its price-to-sales ratio was 1.24, well above its five-year average of 0.83. And the stock's forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 38 was well above its five-year average of 27. You might do well if you buy and hold for a long time, but you'll reduce your risk if you wait for a lower valuation.