On May 15, 2023 at 13:40:41 ET an unusually large $207.78K block of Put contracts in Walmart (WMT) was sold, with a strike price of $149.00 / share, expiring in 4 day(s) (on May 19, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 1.89 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 98.92th percentile of all recent large trades made in WMT options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Options Flow tool, where unusual option trades are highlighted.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 3980 funds or institutions reporting positions in Walmart. This is an increase of 91 owner(s) or 2.34% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to WMT is 0.62%, an increase of 19.69%. Total shares owned by institutions decreased in the last three months by 38.29% to 1,009,530K shares. The put/call ratio of WMT is 1.00, indicating a bullish outlook.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 9.80% Upside

As of May 11, 2023, the average one-year price target for Walmart is 168.08. The forecasts range from a low of 145.44 to a high of $189.00. The average price target represents an increase of 9.80% from its latest reported closing price of 153.07.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for Walmart is 629,089MM, an increase of 2.91%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is 6.61.

What are Other Shareholders Doing?

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 41,250K shares representing 1.53% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 40,896K shares, representing an increase of 0.86%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in WMT by 1.83% over the last quarter.

VFINX – Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 32,628K shares representing 1.21% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 32,312K shares, representing an increase of 0.97%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in WMT by 1.70% over the last quarter.

Geode Capital Management holds 25,105K shares representing 0.93% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 24,855K shares, representing an increase of 0.99%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in WMT by 2.86% over the last quarter.

Bank Of America holds 21,878K shares representing 0.81% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 20,446K shares, representing an increase of 6.54%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in WMT by 74.41% over the last quarter.

Price T Rowe Associates holds 16,456K shares representing 0.61% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 21,489K shares, representing a decrease of 30.58%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in WMT by 67.15% over the last quarter.

Walmart Declares $0.57 Dividend

On February 21, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share ($2.28 annualized). Shareholders of record as of March 17, 2023 received the payment on April 3, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.57 per share.

At the current share price of $153.07 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 1.49%.

Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 1.77%, the lowest has been 1.41%, and the highest has been 2.51%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.27 (n=237).

The current dividend yield is 1.03 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.53. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.06%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Walmart Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Walmart Inc. helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 265 million customers and members visit approximately 11,400 stores under 55 banners in 26 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2020 revenue of $524 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity.

See all Walmart regulatory filings.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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