Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) were up 0.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $57.87 and last traded at $57.63. Approximately 2,098,533 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 8,509,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.6 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $54.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.19%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

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

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.