Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.1% Higher

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.40 and last traded at $43.30. Approximately 1,446,061 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 11,731,130 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $36.10 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.98%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.