Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) shares were up 0% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $42.91 and last traded at $42.89. 2,273,655 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 11,816,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.05 and a 200-day moving average of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.13%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Altria Group by 492.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,184 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Lee Financial Group Hawaii Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.4% in the first quarter. Lee Financial Group Hawaii Inc. now owns 14,017 shares of the company's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 91.8% during the first quarter. Paragon Financial Partners Inc. now owns 21,978 shares of the company's stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 10,520 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $2,106,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 37,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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.