Miller Financial Services LLC Purchases Shares of 2,559 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Miller Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,559 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,035,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 2,516 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,239,003 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $111,944,000 after acquiring an additional 15,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Walmart by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 188,116 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,996,000 after purchasing an additional 19,697 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has 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. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $702.40 billion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $96.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.61.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.08%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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.