M Holdings Securities Inc. Invests $333,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,684 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000. Walmart comprises 0.2% of M Holdings Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $688.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

About Walmart

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.