Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 0.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $45.76 and last traded at $45.87. Approximately 948,582 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 11,038,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $78.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.54%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.