Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 1.6% Higher – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price shot up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $67.46 and last traded at $66.9750. 9,403,891 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 11,277,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $112.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average is $62.08.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 62.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 286.7% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,929,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,262 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 438.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,270 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $126,471,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.