Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Walmart (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 148,425 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 26% compared to the typical volume of 117,785 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,635,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $91.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Walmart has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $91.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $82.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $733.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.