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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 129,220 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 278% compared to the average daily volume of 34,224 call options.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.00. 4,982,389 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,922,215. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.71. Altria Group has a fifty-two week low of $50.08 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $99.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $178,000. Keel Point LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 6,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 121.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 8,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 49,260 shares in the last quarter. Severin Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 7,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 202,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,362,000 after acquiring an additional 5,023 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.33.

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.