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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 593,624 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,585% compared to the average volume of 35,224 call options.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MO opened at $53.47 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.24. The company has a market cap of $90.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.63. Altria Group has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 46.4% during the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Conning Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $221,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 12,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 22.8% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 72,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after buying an additional 13,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

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.