Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.4% Higher

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $44.08 and last traded at $43.98. 1,741,209 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 11,850,927 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $75.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for 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%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.91%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 43.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,344,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,003,000 after purchasing an additional 405,026 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 72.9% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 17,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 7,494 shares in the last quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,633,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 169,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,396,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.