Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was down 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $52.59 and last traded at $52.59. Approximately 1,779,564 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 7,094,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $92.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.61 and a 200-day moving average of $52.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.