Brokerages Set Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Price Target at $53.29

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.29.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.79 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.15 and its 200-day moving average is $53.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $58.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Analysts expect that Altria Group 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.