Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $268.19 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,960,811 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 215,408 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.1% of Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Walmart were worth $268,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Walmart by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $684,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 39,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were 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 owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $78.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.24 and a 200-day moving average of $66.65. The company 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.02.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.