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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 243,407 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,141% compared to the typical daily volume of 19,611 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $71.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $119.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.92.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.70%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 202,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,647,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,587,000 after purchasing an additional 814,665 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,561,000 after purchasing an additional 17,429 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 603,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,889,000 after purchasing an additional 18,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 668,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,531,000 after purchasing an additional 44,267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

About Altria Group

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.