Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Given New $53.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price objective lowered by Bank of America from $57.00 to $53.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $49.91 on Tuesday. Altria Group has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.68. The company has a market cap of $85.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.17%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,793,000 after buying an additional 191,236 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 120.6% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 25.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,510,000 after buying an additional 243,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,655,000 after acquiring an additional 215,594 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.