Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $50.09 and last traded at $50.09. 866,040 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 9,825,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.06. The stock has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.21%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 388,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,940,000 after acquiring an additional 11,430 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 13.7% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 7,253 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 105,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 37,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 12,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 55,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 10,417 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.