Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.8% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $58.68 and last traded at $58.54. Approximately 1,565,431 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,735,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a market cap of $99.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $58.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.41.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 72,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 9,456 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $125,000. Finally, Burney Co. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Altria Group

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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