Walmart Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 157,675 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 91% compared to the average daily volume of 82,584 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $1,559,298.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,274,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $228,855,391.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,032,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,559,224. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,490.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.98. The stock had a trading volume of 12,276,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,891,135. Walmart has a one year low of $48.34 and a one year high of $61.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $475.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

About Walmart

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.