Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.90.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after buying an additional 242,442 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,094 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,201,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,762,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,281,000 after purchasing an additional 337,548 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MO opened at $45.93 on Friday. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.81. The company has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.53%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.