Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 2.1% Higher

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price rose 2.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $50.58 and last traded at $50.53. Approximately 1,416,808 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 10,689,489 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.