Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price traded up 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $51.20 and last traded at $51.14. 1,133,520 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,422,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.14.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.84%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.