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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 137,934 call options on the company. This is an increase of 35% compared to the average volume of 101,923 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.4% during the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Walmart by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 6,987 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.53. 14,352,770 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,781,873. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.58. Walmart has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $85.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $671.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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.