Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price traded up 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.75 and last traded at $50.31. 3,245,033 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 10,063,364 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.3 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.47. The firm has a market cap of $86.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.14%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,793,000 after purchasing an additional 191,236 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,703 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,510,000 after acquiring an additional 243,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,655,000 after acquiring an additional 215,594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.