Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 1.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price was down 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $43.37 and last traded at $43.47. Approximately 2,831,606 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 11,775,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $74.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 83.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares in the last quarter. Callan Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 7,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its holdings in Altria Group by 132.4% in the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 21,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 12,507 shares during the last quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.