Investors Buy High Volume of Altria Group Call Options (NYSE:MO)

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 61,637 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 69% compared to the average daily volume of 36,540 call options.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $55.94 on Friday. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $56.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.54 and a 200 day moving average of $49.13. The firm has a market cap of $94.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.29%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $993,000. Vestcor Inc raised its position in Altria Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 404,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,656,000 after purchasing an additional 58,709 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 12.5% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 15,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after buying an additional 54,102 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.