Northstar Financial Companies Inc. Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,164 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WMT stock traded up $1.47 on Friday, hitting $98.57. 29,968,085 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,929,072. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $64.16 and a one year high of $105.30. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $93.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $788.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.94.

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.