Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shot up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.28 and last traded at $44.22. 2,338,432 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 11,736,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.73%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.