Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.29.

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $58.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, 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 $59.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.01%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its position in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,084,000 after buying an additional 54,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.