Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading 0.4% Higher - Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.79 and last traded at $54.25. 1,118,350 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 9,798,856 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average is $51.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.55%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,797,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,761,000 after buying an additional 120,017 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 8,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. German American Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its stake in Altria Group by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 6,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Capital Group increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 72,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,718,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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.

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