Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 0.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $50.10 and last traded at $50.14. 2,069,299 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 10,187,452 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $86.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.69.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.13%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.