Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded up 2.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $66.74 and last traded at $66.4580. 10,171,918 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 10,368,804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $111.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.51 and a 200 day moving average of $62.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Country Trust Bank raised its holdings in Altria Group by 400.0% in the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.