Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Given New $60.00 Price Target at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price objective lifted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $52.00 to $60.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $53.88 on Friday. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $54.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $543,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 169,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 851,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,159,000 after purchasing an additional 27,139 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $251,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 39,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,741,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.