Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 0.5%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $40.72 and last traded at $40.75. Approximately 10,407,370 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 12,885,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.