Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Sets New 52-Week High at $53.88

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $53.88 and last traded at $53.88, with a volume of 66614 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.58.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.81 and a 200 day moving average of $45.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.46%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.