Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 1.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded up 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $56.09 and last traded at $56.18. 1,965,491 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 7,263,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $95.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $315,000. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $693,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $489,000. Challenger Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $440,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 88,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,611,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.