Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 2.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $57.35 and last traded at $57.52. 5,569,448 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 8,896,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.75. The company has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.