Altria Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MO)

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 54,908 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 52% compared to the typical volume of 36,169 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position 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 period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,461,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,618,254. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.36. The stock has a market cap of $96.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.63.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.