Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Altria Group, Inc. has received an average consensus recommendation of "Hold" from nine brokerages, with two sell ratings, five holds, and two buys.
• The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.37, and had a revenue of $5.29 billion.
• Altria recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06, representing an annualized dividend yield of 6.5%, an increase from the previous dividend of $1.02.

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.8750.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $1,613,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 20.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,392,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,994,000 after purchasing an additional 238,487 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.4% during the second quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7%

MO stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $63.80. 7,625,252 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,889,683. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The company's fifty day moving average price is $63.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.45. The firm has a market cap of $107.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.