Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shot up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $46.54 and last traded at $46.51. 1,459,148 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 9,727,450 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.69.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 61.3% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 10,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 48,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,522 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $242,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,150,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.