Investors Buy Large Volume of Walmart Put Options (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 444,313 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 242% compared to the typical volume of 130,014 put options.

Walmart Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.12 on Friday. Walmart has a 52 week low of $50.21 and a 52 week high of $96.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $756.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total value of $242,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,862,930.05. This trade represents a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,309,091 shares of company stock worth $183,375,539. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Oak Ridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter worth $203,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 21,203 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 103.5% during the second quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 20,621 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after buying an additional 10,490 shares during the period. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 6.5% during the second quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 23,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,620,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 5.3% in the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 123,583 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,368,000 after acquiring an additional 6,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.40.

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.