Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $50.38 and last traded at $50.07. 763,895 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 9,972,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.71. The company has a market capitalization of $85.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.23%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,318 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 91.6% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 148,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,595,000 after purchasing an additional 71,154 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 123.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 28,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 15,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,189,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by 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.