Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 1% Higher

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares were up 1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $50.95 and last traded at $50.90. Approximately 1,472,063 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 10,252,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.85. The firm has a market cap of $87.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.01%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.9% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $16,747,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $207,000. 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.