Payden & Rygel Has $1.48 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Payden & Rygel increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,400 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 93,272.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 821,003,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,045,359,000 after acquiring an additional 820,124,410 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,104,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,691,763,000 after purchasing an additional 249,501 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 112,181.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,240,599,000 after purchasing an additional 22,834,564 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Walmart by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,382,688 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,173,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,598,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $187.00 to $177.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stephens upped their price target on Walmart from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 13th. HSBC assumed coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $176.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.00.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $155.55 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $162.21 and its 200 day moving average is $157.87. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $136.09 and a 52 week high of $169.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 2.55%. The firm had revenue of $160.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $708,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 269,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,597,278. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.37, for a total value of $164,370.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,570,601.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $708,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 269,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,597,278. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,166 shares of company stock valued at $5,066,701 over the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.