Altria Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MO)

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 61,637 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 69% compared to the typical daily volume of 36,540 call options.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $55.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $56.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.13.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after purchasing an additional 40,574 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after purchasing an additional 32,318 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $483,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.