Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.9%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $43.83 and last traded at $43.79. Approximately 1,914,786 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 11,888,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.45. The company has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.95%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 293.6% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.