Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.02

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of 1.02 per share on Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th.

Altria Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 56 consecutive years. Altria Group has a dividend payout ratio of 73.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Altria Group to earn $5.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 73.6%.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4%

MO stock traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.87. The stock had a trading volume of 5,907,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,541,514. Altria Group has a 52-week low of $43.83 and a 52-week high of $61.26. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $58.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.41. The company has a market cap of $99.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Altria Group stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 64.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,702 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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