Bank of America Raises Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target to $57.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $52.00 to $57.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

MO has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $48.58.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $53.69 on Wednesday. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95. The company has a market capitalization of $92.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.98.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.60%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.36%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.