Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Time to Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price traded up 0.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $52.93 and last traded at $52.99. 1,139,380 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 7,478,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.19 and its 200 day moving average is $52.42.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 9,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $315,000. Davis R M Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 7,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.