Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 0.6%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded down 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $46.60 and last traded at $46.67. 1,364,988 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 10,943,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.10.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.01. The firm has a market cap of $80.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. 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.