Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.2% Following Dividend Announcement

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $55.18 and last traded at $54.94. 1,486,963 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,404,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.85.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.31%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $94.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.89.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $166,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,905,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Finally, LifeWealth Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $549,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.