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

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 169,565 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 42% compared to the average daily volume of 119,426 call options.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $121.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $965.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.19, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $79.81 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $123.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 34.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $1,214,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares in the company, valued at $13,153,389.24. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $2,460,201.36. Following the sale, the director owned 4,023,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,780,812.39. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 261,153 shares of company stock worth $32,005,084 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual bullish options activity — traders bought ~169,565 WMT call contracts (≈+42% vs. typical daily call volume), signaling short‑term bullish bets that can support upside if sentiment continues.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being highlighted as an AI investment play—articles argue AI deployments across supply chain and pricing could raise efficiency and long‑term profitability. Forget Chipmakers: Walmart and Target Are the Real AI Plays
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart secured U.S. machine‑learning patents for pricing systems — a potential competitive edge to optimize margins and pricing strategies. Walmart Secures Machine Learning Patents for Pricing Items
• Positive Sentiment: Marketplace/Dropshipping integration with Doba expands Walmart Marketplace’s seller capabilities and could aid e‑commerce revenue growth. Doba Announces Verified Technical Integration with Walmart Marketplace to Empower Dropshipping Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Positive analyst/retail commentary — some investors are bullish on Walmart’s expanding e‑commerce and advertising businesses as drivers of future growth. 1 Stock I Plan to Load Up On in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO transition coverage — analysis of managing leadership change notes both downside risk and opportunity; impact depends on specifics and investor reaction over time. How to Play 3 Major CEO Transitions in Early 2026 (WMT)
• Neutral Sentiment: PhonePe IPO pause — Walmart‑backed PhonePe delaying IPO due to market volatility is a timing risk for potential value realization, but not an immediate operational hit to Walmart. Walmart-backed PhonePe pauses IPO plans as Middle East conflict fuels market volatility
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder law firm is investigating Walmart’s board over alleged deceptive pay practices for Spark drivers — potential legal, financial and governance risks that can weigh on sentiment and create downside risk. Berger Montague PC Investigates Walmart Inc.’s Board of Directors for Breach of Fiduciary Duty (NASDAQ: WMT)

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.