Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price rose 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $54.15 and last traded at $54.13. Approximately 803,946 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 9,854,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a market cap of $90.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.70.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.62%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. 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.