Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.2%

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $43.95 and last traded at $43.76. 1,763,951 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 11,671,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $36.10 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $76.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors 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.