Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares rose 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $57.15 and last traded at $57.04. Approximately 1,651,521 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,991,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.06. The firm has a market cap of $96.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.11%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,787,000 after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.