Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0.7%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price traded up 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $51.36 and last traded at $51.36. 949,753 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 10,253,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.92. The company has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $445,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.