Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.4%

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) fell 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $45.81 and last traded at $45.87. 1,119,605 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 11,096,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.32 and its 200-day moving average is $42.81. The company has a market capitalization of $78.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.55%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,701,000 after acquiring an additional 242,442 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,094 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,201,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,870,000 after acquiring an additional 617,900 shares during the last quarter. 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.