Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 1.1% – What’s Next?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares rose 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $51.74 and last traded at $51.70. Approximately 2,086,248 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 6,193,173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $87.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.91.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.87%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is 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.