Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives $53.29 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.29.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $53.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.52. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% during 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. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.