Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) fell 1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $59.34 and last traded at $59.42. 2,401,033 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 8,857,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $96.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.51 and its 200 day moving average is $53.72.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 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.