Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 0.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $52.00 to $55.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Altria Group traded as high as $58.78 and last traded at $58.40. Approximately 1,927,246 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 8,746,210 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.26.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,787,000 after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $57.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.