Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 1.1% Higher

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price traded up 1.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $54.36 and last traded at $54.35. 1,499,963 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 10,303,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.08.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $93.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.49%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.