Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares were up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $52.84 and last traded at $52.52. Approximately 2,163,910 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 7,639,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $89.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.42.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 31,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 4,582 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $71,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 24,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $642,000. 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.