Brokerages Set Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Target Price at $62.33

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.3333.

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after purchasing an additional 886,583 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,229,000 after purchasing an additional 764,221 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 19.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,575,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,705,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,543,000 after purchasing an additional 59,189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $57.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.60. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $50.08 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $96.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.89% and a negative return on equity of 319.43%. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.