UBS Group Raises Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target to $46.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Free Report) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $42.00 to $46.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.44. 8,151,838 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,924,628. The company has a market cap of $95.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $55.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.75. Altria Group has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $60.18.

Remove Ads

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 7.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% during 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. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.