Payden & Rygel Investment Group Invests $38.27 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Payden & Rygel Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 636,000 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $38,268,000. Walmart makes up approximately 1.8% of Payden & Rygel Investment Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth about $464,000. Elgethun Capital Management increased its stake in Walmart by 244.1% in the 1st quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 22,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 16,276 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 193.4% in the 1st quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 77,262 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,649,000 after acquiring an additional 50,926 shares during the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 198.4% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,228 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 4,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1,278.6% during the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 958,955 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $57,700,000 after acquiring an additional 889,397 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC upped their price objective on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.60.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5 %

WMT traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.66. 4,674,339 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,289,555. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $71.33. The firm has a market cap of $560.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.63. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,239,034.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,498,614 shares of company stock valued at $951,441,747. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.