Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.10.

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th.

Insider Activity

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,776,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,753,690. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $49.92. The company has a market capitalization of $84.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.52.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.93%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.