Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded up 0.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $56.55 and last traded at $56.26. 1,289,618 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 9,741,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $95.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.25%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position 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 valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% during the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring 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.