Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Downgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to “Hold”

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

MO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Altria Group stock opened at $57.93 on Tuesday. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $60.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.75.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Altria Group by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 72,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $963,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP raised its holdings in Altria Group by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 33,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 3,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 2,103.4% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 50,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after buying an additional 48,462 shares during the period. 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.