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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 140,512 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 30% compared to the average volume of 108,346 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.96.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $79.78 on Friday. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $81.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $641.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,317,999 shares of company stock worth $956,341,379 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 3,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC now owns 15,979 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.