Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 1.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price was up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $41.83 and last traded at $41.78. Approximately 1,768,230 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 11,593,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $72.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.91 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.1% in the first quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 16,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% in the first quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 153,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,716,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 36.2% in the first quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 4,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 56.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 11,779 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.