Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Walmart Call Options (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 137,934 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 35% compared to the average daily volume of 101,923 call options.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

Walmart stock opened at $83.84 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $85.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.67. The stock has a market cap of $673.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.