Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded up 0% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $42.91 and last traded at $42.89. 2,273,655 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 11,816,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $73.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.44.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.13%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.78%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.