Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 0%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price traded down 0% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $47.53 and last traded at $47.72. 1,313,153 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 10,887,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.10.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.5 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.13. The firm has a market cap of $82.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.