Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) shares were up 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $41.39 and last traded at $41.21. Approximately 1,737,066 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 11,518,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.10.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.
Altria Group Stock Performance
The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.43. The company has a market cap of $70.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.65.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.
Altria Group Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. 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 9.48%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.78%.
Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Institutional Trading of Altria Group
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,128,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 293.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
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.