Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price traded up 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.25 and last traded at $51.16. 927,687 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 6,126,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.91.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.