Brokerages Set Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Target Price at $56.00

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.46. The stock had a trading volume of 7,609,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,725,229. The company has a market cap of $100.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $43.83 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.58.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.86%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

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.