Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

MO traded up $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $51.14. 5,960,215 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,637,479. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.38 and a 200-day moving average of $51.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.98%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.