Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shot up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $53.11 and last traded at $52.79. 1,846,221 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 6,976,216 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $88.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after acquiring an additional 19,893 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,318 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.