Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 0.2% during trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $63.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Altria Group traded as high as $59.16 and last traded at $59.24. Approximately 2,094,491 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 8,770,565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.15.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on MO. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 37.8% during the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in Altria Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.72. The stock has a market cap of $100.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 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.

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