Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 245,424 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 82% compared to the typical volume of 134,801 call options.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,309,091 shares of company stock valued at $183,375,539 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its position in Walmart by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 91,038 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,372,000 after acquiring an additional 7,965 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $201,000. Professional Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,702 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $263,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 111.5% during the 2nd quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,425 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 3,915 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Walmart Stock Down 0.9 %
Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.09. 14,157,607 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,919,092. The firm has a market cap of $755.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart has a 52-week low of $50.21 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.62.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.