Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Altria Group (NYSE:MO)

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 61,637 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 69% compared to the average volume of 36,540 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,330,000 after purchasing an additional 32,318 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $483,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.1 %

MO traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.02. 2,598,105 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,754,013. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.54 and its 200 day moving average is $49.13. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $56.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

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.