Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) were down 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $49.95 and last traded at $50.02. Approximately 1,670,116 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 9,789,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.25.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group boosted 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. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.20.
Get Our Latest Analysis on MO
Altria Group Price Performance
The firm has a market cap of $85.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50 day moving average is $51.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.17.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.
Altria Group Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.17%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.36%.
Institutional Trading of Altria Group
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BSW Wealth Partners bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $201,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,420 shares of the company's stock worth $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 3,830 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 52,022 shares of the company's stock worth $2,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1,955.7% during the 3rd quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 6,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.
Altria Group Company Profile
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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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