Analysts Set Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) PT at $63.67

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.3333.

Several equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903,530 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,141 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,651,383,000 after purchasing an additional 729,999 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,286,174,000 after purchasing an additional 335,089 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $69.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $117.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $52.82 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.50.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.