Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 1.2%

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports 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 set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a market cap of $72.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $41.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. Altria Group's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company's stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Day & Ennis LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the third quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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.