Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 1.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares rose 1.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $58.52 and last traded at $58.13. Approximately 8,765,015 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 8,998,560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $98.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.20.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 54,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,000 after buying an additional 12,320 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.