Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $55.90 and last traded at $55.78, with a volume of 848795 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $94.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.54 and its 200 day moving average is $49.13.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $41,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.