Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares rose 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $52.01 and last traded at $51.92. Approximately 6,528,941 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 6,772,463 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four 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 $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.03. The firm has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after buying an additional 46,697 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after acquiring an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after acquiring an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,318 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.