Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.53.

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $40.40 to $39.20 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Altria Group from $46.50 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $40.67 on Friday. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $51.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.19. The stock has a market cap of $71.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 35.58% and a negative return on equity of 237.91%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.64%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Simmons Bank lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 39,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 510,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,128,000 after purchasing an additional 21,222 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 440.5% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. 58.94% of the stock is 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 provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.