Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Research Coverage Started at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE MO opened at $51.92 on Thursday. The stock 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.95. Altria Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake 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 third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.