Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Given New $55.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $52.00 to $55.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7 %

MO stock opened at $58.28 on Friday. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $43.37 and a 1-year high of $60.18. The stock has a market cap of $98.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.60.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 8,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Sage Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 8.0% during the first quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 53,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,191,000 after buying an additional 3,958 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 257,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,434,000 after acquiring an additional 8,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 7,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.