Brokerages Set Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) PT at $53.33

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.43.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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, Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.91. Altria Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

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.