Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 1.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price rose 1.2% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $46.42 and last traded at $46.08. Approximately 1,571,331 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 11,178,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.19 and a 200 day moving average of $42.75. The firm has a market cap of $78.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.54%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth $26,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.