Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

MO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $45.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.75. The company has a market capitalization of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.