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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 129,220 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 278% compared to the average daily volume of 34,224 call options.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 43.0% during the second quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. now owns 13,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 3,908 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $126,471,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 31.5% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 97,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,710,000 after buying an additional 23,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,388,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MO. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MO stock opened at $59.08 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.48. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.