Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 6.5% - Here's What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 6.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $54.06 and last traded at $53.77. Approximately 7,747,256 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 9,817,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $51.39 and its 200 day moving average is $48.29. The stock has a market cap of $92.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,754,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,772,000 after purchasing an additional 54,096 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,823 shares of the company's stock worth $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Altria Group by 56.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 11,779 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,715 shares of the company's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its position in Altria Group by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 16,800 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.