Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MO opened at $57.93 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.75. The company has a market cap of $97.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $60.18.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors 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.