Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $58.64 and last traded at $58.34, with a volume of 544957 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $99.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $53.15 and its 200-day moving average is $53.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in Altria Group by 13.6% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 111,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,680,000 after purchasing an additional 17,887 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Ted Buchan & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the third quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 12,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is 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.