Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded up 1.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $57.52 and last traded at $57.58. 1,590,909 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 8,474,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $54.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Altria Group by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 263,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,759,000 after acquiring an additional 36,167 shares during the last quarter. Prostatis Group LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 5,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $316,000. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $795,000. Finally, Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $639,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently 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.