Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 2.7% – Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price shot up 2.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $59.78 and last traded at $59.75. 4,300,727 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 8,830,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $55.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.69. The stock has a market cap of $99.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Altria Group

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.