Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.6%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price was down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $53.94 and last traded at $53.95. Approximately 1,150,618 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 10,276,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $92.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.88.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 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.