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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $51.74 and last traded at $51.70. 2,086,248 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 6,193,173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.95. The company has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 330.4% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. 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.