Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 1.2% Higher

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded up 1.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $46.42 and last traded at $46.08. 1,571,331 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 11,178,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $79.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.26 and its 200 day moving average is $42.78.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 8.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in 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 during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.