Altria Group, Inc. (MO) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 25th

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of 1.02 per share on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th.

Altria Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 56 consecutive years. Altria Group has a payout ratio of 73.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Altria Group to earn $5.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 73.6%.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MO opened at $57.46 on Friday. Altria Group has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $59.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.42 and a 200-day moving average of $53.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 given 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 target price of $53.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Altria Group stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 64.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,702 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 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.