Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 1.1%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price fell 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $49.94 and last traded at $50.02. 1,153,274 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 10,144,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. 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 $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $85.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.59 and its 200-day moving average is $47.27.

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). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 25.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Altria Group by 415.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,935,000 after buying an additional 793,327 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,613,000. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 182,943.7% in the second quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 569,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,930,000 after buying an additional 568,955 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.