Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.92 and last traded at $52.72. Approximately 927,688 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 7,594,847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.42. The stock has a market cap of $89.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.74%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.