Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shot up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $41.39 and last traded at $41.21. Approximately 1,737,066 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 11,518,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $72.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.