Altria Group (NYSE:MO) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $70.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $70.04. Jefferies Group’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.57% from the stock’s previous close.
MO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Vetr upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.29 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Co upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Cowen upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $64.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.71.
Shares of Altria Group (MO) traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.12. 8,654,638 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,210,000. The firm has a market cap of $135,710.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $60.01 and a 1-year high of $77.79.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bellwether Investment Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bellwether Investment Group LLC now owns 4,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC now owns 2,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 5,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 4,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.64% of the company’s stock.
Altria Group Company Profile
Altria Group, Inc is a holding company. The Company’s segments include smokeable products, smokeless products and wine. The Company’s subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA Inc (PM USA), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States; John Middleton Co (Middleton), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made cigars and pipe tobacco, and UST LLC (UST), which, through its subsidiaries, including U.S.
