Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0.3%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $44.14 and last traded at $43.96. Approximately 3,096,601 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 11,867,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.0 %

The firm's 50 day moving average is $42.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.47. The firm has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued 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 (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in 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 last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 293.6% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company's stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 41,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company's stock worth $40,727,000 after buying an additional 4,789 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.