Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Hits New 1-Year High at $48.18

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $48.18 and last traded at $48.10, with a volume of 1220047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.10.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $84.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.28.

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, hitting 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 negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,526,000 after buying an additional 1,343,094 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,870,000 after buying an additional 617,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,567,000 after buying an additional 915,478 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.