Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 3.3% - Here's What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) traded up 3.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $59.15 and last traded at $59.02. 4,538,016 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 8,933,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm's fifty day moving average is $55.51 and its 200-day moving average is $53.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. 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 7.04%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company's stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during 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.

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