Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives $53.29 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.00.

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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, Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 14,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 93,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 263,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,759,000 after acquiring an additional 36,167 shares during the last quarter. Prostatis Group LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 5,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $57.21 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $96.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $60.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.51 and a 200-day moving average of $53.72.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.13%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.