Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.3%

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) were down 0.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $50.56 and last traded at $50.90. Approximately 1,131,359 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 10,172,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $87.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.15.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 86,614.3% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 6,063 shares during the period. 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.