Lavaca Capital LLC Acquires 15,390 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lavaca Capital LLC increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 305.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,421 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,390 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 0.7% of Lavaca Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Lavaca Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,370,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its stake in Walmart by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 1,014 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock worth $954,424,817 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.16 on Monday, reaching $69.62. 10,040,268 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,328,914. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $67.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $71.33. The company has a market capitalization of $559.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

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.