Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives $62.33 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.3333.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:MO opened at $57.76 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.82. The stock has a market cap of $96.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $126,471,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Invst LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 252.0% in the 1st quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 11,589 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,388,000. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.5% during the second quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 79,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares in the last quarter. 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.