Altria Group (NYSE:MO) PT Raised to $57.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its target price increased by Bank of America from $52.00 to $57.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.58.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $53.69 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.02. The company has a market capitalization of $92.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.60%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently 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.