Bank of America Raises Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target to $48.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $47.10.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $47.73 on Wednesday. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $47.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $725,000. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 24,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 29.1% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 3,074 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.