Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 1% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded up 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $58.19 and last traded at $58.09. 1,587,628 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 9,681,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.13. The firm has a market cap of $97.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,787,000 after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.