Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $58.59 and last traded at $57.96. 3,818,964 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 7,549,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.96. The stock has a market cap of $95.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.24%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.