Walmart Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 245,424 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 82% compared to the average daily volume of 134,801 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Melius Research started coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.40.

Walmart Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.12 on Friday. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $50.21 and a fifty-two week high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $756.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.56 and a 200 day moving average of $76.62.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total transaction of $28,139,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,989,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,262,194,181.50. This represents a 0.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,309,091 shares of company stock valued at $183,375,539. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.