Brokerages Set Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Target Price at $49.67

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.17.

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

MO opened at $49.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $85.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.57 and its 200 day moving average is $47.49. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors 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.