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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 620,928 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,728% compared to the average volume of 33,965 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $59.74 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group has a 52-week low of $43.83 and a 52-week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.