Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $58.59 and last traded at $57.83, with a volume of 807588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.95 and its 200 day moving average is $53.01. The stock has a market cap of $94.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in Altria Group by 1,209.2% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 139,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,295,000 after acquiring an additional 128,856 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $166,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $51,905,000. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.