Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 1% – Time to Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price was up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $57.90 and last traded at $57.69. Approximately 1,273,751 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 8,993,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.15. The company has a market cap of $96.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.12%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $2,041,000. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.8% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 20,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Altria Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 82,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,208,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. 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.