Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 1.5% - Here's What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $58.49 and last traded at $58.49. Approximately 1,130,521 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 8,871,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.97 and a 200 day moving average of $54.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid 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 6.96%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nadler Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $206,000. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 9,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 103,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 13,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $221,000. 57.41% of the stock is 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.