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

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 178,298 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 49% compared to the typical daily volume of 119,718 call options.

Walmart Trading Up 2.1%

WMT stock traded up $2.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $115.52. The stock had a trading volume of 20,671,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,680,955. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $105.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.22. Walmart has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $116.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $920.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.64.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The company had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CTO Suresh Kumar sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.47, for a total value of $3,104,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,787,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,921,584. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $415,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,048,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,861,082.65. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 158,013 shares of company stock worth $16,657,847 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Walmart by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,091,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $112,458,000 after acquiring an additional 323,100 shares during the last quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $6,727,000. Severin Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.7% during the third quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 11,644 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Walmart by 11.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 134,634 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,879,000 after purchasing an additional 13,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stillwater Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,772,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $120.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.31.

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.