Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 1.4% – Should You Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price fell 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $50.63 and last traded at $50.75. 1,914,975 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 6,363,190 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $86.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.03%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 90,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Altria Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 140,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,352,000 after buying an additional 4,211 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 33,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 5,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.