Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1,496.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,842 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,657 shares during the period. Aurora Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 123,295 shares of company stock worth $11,801,762 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.65 and a 200 day moving average of $94.20. The firm has a market cap of $776.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

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.