Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price traded up 3.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $59.15 and last traded at $59.02. 4,538,016 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 8,933,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.78. The company has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (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, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MO. Exeter Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.9% in the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 21,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 129.1% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 9,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 117,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 24,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.