Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.3333.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MO. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $126,471,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,715,000. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 252.0% in the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 11,589 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,388,000. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 5.5% during the second quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 79,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after acquiring an additional 4,149 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

MO stock opened at $58.16 on Tuesday. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $50.08 and a 12-month high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $97.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.13 and a 200-day moving average of $61.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.92%.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.