M Holdings Securities Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,684 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,684 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $333,000. Walmart comprises about 0.2% of M Holdings Securities Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer's stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WMT traded up $0.37 on Wednesday, reaching $85.13. 27,218,904 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,048,797. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $682.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business's fifty day moving average price is $95.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.25. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.17.

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.