Altria Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MO)

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors bought 400,445 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 945% compared to the average volume of 38,308 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

MO stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $57.62. 11,942,385 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,547,434. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Research analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

About Altria Group

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.