Walmart Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 147,969 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately38% compared to the average daily volume of 107,418 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,080,073. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 267.8% in the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 55.3% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 98.2% in the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $103.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $97.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $824.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.13, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

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.