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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 121,099 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 455% compared to the average daily volume of 21,809 call options.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock traded up $1.71 during trading on Monday, hitting $70.69. 7,816,575 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,256,657. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $77.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.41 and a 200-day moving average of $69.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, Director Kathryn McQuade acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MO. Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $223,000. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 9,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,379,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,237,000 after buying an additional 315,892 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 137,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,918,000 after buying an additional 7,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 2,850 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 tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria’s smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.