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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 157,675 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 91% compared to the typical volume of 82,584 call options.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,032,265 shares of company stock worth $1,696,559,224. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Seven Mile Advisory increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% during the third quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of WMT stock traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.98. 12,276,709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,891,135. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $48.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.59.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Four equities 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 company presently has a consensus 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.