Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.3% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded up 0.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $58.56 and last traded at $58.46. 1,426,597 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 8,466,394 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.07 and a 200 day moving average of $53.59. The firm has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.01%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. 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.