Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares rose 0.1% during trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $49.00. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Altria Group traded as high as $59.52 and last traded at $59.39. Approximately 1,569,851 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 9,585,837 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.31.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.88. The company has a market cap of $100.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.85%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.