M Holdings Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 40,769 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,684,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 2.2 %

WMT stock traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.17. 21,350,174 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,797,031. The company has a market capitalization of $746.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Walmart 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.