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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 40,713 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 34% compared to the typical daily volume of 30,470 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $52.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,639,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,290,179. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.26. The company has a market capitalization of $89.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. 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. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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