Aviance Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,873 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,040 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $94.59 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.13. The firm has a market cap of $759.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

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.