Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 28,068 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 226% compared to the average volume of 8,614 call options.
In other news, insider David Chojnowski sold 5,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.36, for a total value of $408,069.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 1,321,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.61, for a total value of $103,870,537.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,006,720 shares of company stock worth $1,816,131,604 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 51.39% of the company’s stock.
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Lee Financial Co increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 2.8% in the second quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 2,105 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. CAPROCK Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 24.7% in the second quarter. CAPROCK Group Inc. now owns 29,371 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,223,000 after buying an additional 5,811 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 3.1% in the second quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 5,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 6.4% in the second quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 19,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saratoga Research & Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 2.6% in the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 918,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $69,516,000 after buying an additional 23,457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.16% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE WMT) opened at 79.78 on Friday. Wal-Mart Stores has a one year low of $65.28 and a one year high of $80.47. The stock has a market cap of $240.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.18.
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $116.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.01 billion. Wal-Mart Stores had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wal-Mart Stores will post $4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Vetr downgraded Wal-Mart Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.69 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Jefferies Group LLC boosted their price objective on Wal-Mart Stores from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 12th. BidaskClub downgraded Wal-Mart Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $77.00 price objective on Wal-Mart Stores and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.46.
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Wal-Mart Stores Company Profile
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc is engaged in the operation of retail, wholesale and other units in various formats around the world. The Company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment includes its mass merchant concept in the United States operating under the Walmart or Wal-Mart brands, as well as digital retail.
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