Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 2.7% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price traded up 2.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $59.78 and last traded at $59.75. 4,300,727 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 8,830,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.38 and its 200-day moving average is $53.69. The company has a market cap of $99.68 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

About Altria Group

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.