Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $55.13 and last traded at $55.05. Approximately 1,553,347 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 9,772,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $93.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.09.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.36%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 41.5% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 30.2% during the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $3,866,000. Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $347,000. Finally, Resolute Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Resolute Advisors LLC now owns 11,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.