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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 157,675 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 91% compared to the typical daily volume of 82,584 call options.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $59.08 on Wednesday. Walmart has a one year low of $48.34 and a one year high of $61.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $476.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. 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 previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $1,559,298.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,274,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,855,391.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $1,559,298.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,274,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,855,391.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,695,846,536. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1,490.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in 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 institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Europe raised their price objective on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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.