Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.8% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) rose 0.8% during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $58.68 and last traded at $58.54. Approximately 1,565,431 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,735,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.06.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.93%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. 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.