Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $53.11 and last traded at $52.79. 1,846,221 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 6,976,216 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised shares of 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.81 and its 200-day moving average is $52.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.