Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0.7% Following Earnings Beat

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 0.7% on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $59.66 and last traded at $59.20. 3,384,776 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 9,561,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.77.

The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $100.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's 50 day moving average is $57.54 and its 200 day moving average is $54.78.

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.