Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,960,811 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 215,408 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.1% of Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Walmart were worth $268,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $78.05 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.65. The firm has a market cap of $627.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $81.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,369,039 shares of company stock valued at $959,826,083 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.