Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares were up 3.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $59.15 and last traded at $59.02. Approximately 4,538,016 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 8,933,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $97.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.72.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.04%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.