Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 1.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price was up 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $41.83 and last traded at $41.78. Approximately 1,768,230 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 11,593,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.42. The company has a market capitalization of $72.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.78%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 404,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,248,000 after acquiring an additional 6,324 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 5.2% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,711,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,690,000 after acquiring an additional 89,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $498,000. Hedge funds and other 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.