Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives $65.11 Average PT from Analysts

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.1111.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE:MO opened at $65.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $108.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $52.82 and a 12 month high of $70.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.61.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Altria Group by 286.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,929,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,262 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 438.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.