Avestar Capital LLC Purchases 3,124 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,496 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,124 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. MGB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,626 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. One Plus One Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. One Plus One Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 4,019 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 4,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares during the period. Finally, Tranquility Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $105.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $844.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $105.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.