Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.5% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price traded up 0.5% during trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $36.10 to $36.50. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Altria Group traded as high as $42.03 and last traded at $41.87. 2,004,452 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 11,729,483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.65.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $219,000. ACT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $225,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 24,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the first quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 39,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, Stolper Co raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the first quarter. Stolper Co now owns 39,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 5,174 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $72.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.31%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.