Payden & Rygel Acquires 32,000 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Payden & Rygel grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 183,860 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,000 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.5% of Payden & Rygel’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC raised its position in Walmart by 20.2% in the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,283 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at about $7,455,131,000. HORAN Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 55.7% during the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 282.9% during the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 119,865 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,456,000 after purchasing an additional 88,562 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.41.

Walmart Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of WMT opened at $123.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.88 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The company has a market capitalization of $979.90 billion, a PE ratio of 44.59, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.66, for a total transaction of $1,399,912.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 647,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,106,293.92. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $575,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,699,680. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 102,244 shares of company stock valued at $11,112,044 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Energy investment expands Walmart’s customer offerings: Walmart is making a strategic investment in Base Power and will offer the company’s home battery systems to Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members beginning in November. The systems are designed to reduce energy costs and provide backup power, creating a potential new customer benefit while expanding Walmart’s ecosystem beyond traditional retail. Walmart and Base Power announce strategic agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Major automation agreement with Symbotic: Walmart expanded its commercial relationship with warehouse-automation provider Symbotic in a deal valued at approximately $6 billion. Greater automation could improve fulfillment capacity, labor efficiency and inventory management, although the investment also carries execution and capital-spending risks. Symbotic stock jumps on Walmart automation deal
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals continue to support the stock: Walmart’s latest quarterly results exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, with revenue rising year over year. Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight earnings growth and price strength as reasons to remain constructive on WMT. Earnings growth and price strength make Walmart a stock to watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthcare expansion offers a longer-term growth avenue: Walmart has broadened its Better Care Services platform into a healthcare marketplace connecting customers with third-party providers. The initiative could increase customer engagement, but its financial contribution is not yet clear. Walmart launched a healthcare services marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory concerns remain: DoorDash’s proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart is intended partly to strengthen competition with Walmart and Amazon in local commerce and grocery delivery. Separately, the FTC is seeking information from Walmart about the use of personal data in personalized pricing, creating potential compliance and reputational risks. FTC orders Walmart and others to share pricing data information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation comparisons could limit upside: Walmart trades at a substantially higher earnings multiple than Target, while commentary suggests Walmart’s comparable-sales growth may be moderating. That premium leaves the stock more exposed if growth expectations weaken. Target trades at a fraction of Walmart’s valuation

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.