On March 22, 2023 at 15:40:12 ET an unusually large $1,498.00K block of Call contracts in Altria Group (MO) was bought, with a strike price of $35.00 / share, expiring in 303 days (on January 19, 2024). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 18.29 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 100.00 percentile of all recent large trades made in MO options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Unusual Option Trades tool, where unusual option trades are highlighted.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 9.62% Upside

As of March 21, 2023, the average one-year price target for Altria Group is $50.65. The forecasts range from a low of $37.37 to a high of $73.50. The average price target represents an increase of 9.62% from its latest reported closing price of $46.20.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for Altria Group is $21,696MM, an increase of 4.87%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is $5.20.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 2756 funds or institutions reporting positions in Altria Group. This is an increase of 101 owner(s) or 3.80% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to MO is 0.38%, an increase of 6.90%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 0.56% to 1,228,529K shares. The put/call ratio of MO is 0.75, indicating a bullish outlook.

What are Large Shareholders Doing?

Capital World Investors holds 70,315K shares representing 3.94% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 78,880K shares, representing a decrease of 12.18%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MO by 4.19% over the last quarter.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 54,473K shares representing 3.05% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 53,713K shares, representing an increase of 1.39%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MO by 6.02% over the last quarter.

Charles Schwab Investment Management holds 44,066K shares representing 2.47% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 40,550K shares, representing an increase of 7.98%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MO by 99.90% over the last quarter.

VFINX – Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 41,430K shares representing 2.32% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 40,823K shares, representing an increase of 1.47%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MO by 5.84% over the last quarter.

Capital Research Global Investors holds 35,346K shares representing 1.98% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 20,632K shares, representing an increase of 41.63%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MO by 78.40% over the last quarter.

Altria Group Declares $0.94 Dividend

On March 1, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share ($3.76 annualized). Shareholders of record as of March 24, 2023 will receive the payment on April 28, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.94 per share.

At the current share price of $46.20 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 8.14%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 7.16%, the lowest has been 4.36%, and the highest has been 10.71%. The standard deviation of yields is 1.23 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 0.79 standard deviations above the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 1.16. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.12%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Altria Group Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Altria Group, Inc. (previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc.) is an American corporation and one of the largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes and related products. It operates worldwide. It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors; and large retail organizations, such as chain stores.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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