UBS Group Boosts Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target to $46.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its target price increased by analysts at UBS Group from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 22.55% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.63 on Tuesday, hitting $59.40. 2,166,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,855,556. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $60.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.65.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Altria Group

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.