Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price traded up 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $45.62 and last traded at $45.54. 1,411,775 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 11,168,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75. The company has a market cap of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is 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.