Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target Raised to $60.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its target price hoisted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $52.00 to $60.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MO opened at $53.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.42 and a 200-day moving average of $48.49. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.57%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $543,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 169,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,396,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 851,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,159,000 after acquiring an additional 27,139 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $251,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 39,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 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.