Aviance Capital Partners LLC Buys 26,624 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 414.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,042 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,624 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Northwest Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $68.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.53. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $69.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $547.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.47.

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.