Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price rose 0.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.55 and last traded at $56.26. 1,289,618 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 9,741,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.47. The stock has a market cap of $94.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.30%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 25,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 18.3% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $207,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 594,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,320,000 after acquiring an additional 8,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 66,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.