Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0.7% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $50.33 and last traded at $50.30. Approximately 3,251,851 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 9,788,364 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

Altria Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.23.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.36%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Altria Group by 3,786.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,985,000 after buying an additional 1,698,585 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 415.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,935,000 after acquiring an additional 793,327 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Altria Group by 19.9% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after acquiring an additional 670,858 shares during the period. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $27,613,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.