Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.6% After Dividend Announcement

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was up 0.6% during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $52.16 and last traded at $52.13. Approximately 1,726,726 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 10,426,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.83.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.78%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.08.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.08. The stock has a market cap of $90.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.