Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 1.1% Higher - Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $51.74 and last traded at $51.70. 2,086,248 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 6,193,173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Altria Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50 day moving average is $54.29 and its 200 day moving average is $51.99.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.