Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $60.62 and last traded at $60.51, with a volume of 6521641 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $101.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $57.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company 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%. Altria Group's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.74%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 318.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 51,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 39,465 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 446.9% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 41,947 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 34,277 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,474,000. 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.

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