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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 593,624 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,585% compared to the typical daily volume of 35,224 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.47. 5,388,888 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,621,410. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.20. The firm has a market cap of $90.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.63. Altria Group has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.