Barclays Raises Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target to $45.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

MO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Altria Group stock opened at $53.15 on Monday. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.29. The stock has a market cap of $91.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.68%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is 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.