Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.4% - Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $60.75 and last traded at $60.74. Approximately 2,261,495 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 8,741,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $102.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.03.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.68%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,164,681,000 after acquiring an additional 76,004 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock worth $617,124,000 after purchasing an additional 983,328 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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