Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $55.90 and last traded at $55.78, with a volume of 848795 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.29%. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company's stock worth $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company's stock worth $74,330,000 after purchasing an additional 32,318 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company's stock worth $100,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $483,000. 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.