Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.4%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price fell 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $51.22 and last traded at $51.49. 2,049,075 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 10,195,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.67. The stock has a market cap of $86.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.12%. This is a boost 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 85.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.