Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

MO has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a sell rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $44.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.48. The firm has a market cap of $76.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $261,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,179,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,718,000 after buying an additional 18,578 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $366,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Finally, Truepoint Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.