Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Walmart (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 157,675 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 91% compared to the average volume of 82,584 call options.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,990,016 shares of company stock valued at $1,694,287,237 over the last 90 days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seven Mile Advisory raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the 4th 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 position in Walmart by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of WMT opened at $59.87 on Thursday. Walmart has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.67. The stock has a market cap of $482.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.