Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 1% – Time to Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) dropped 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $57.82 and last traded at $57.78. Approximately 1,710,353 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 8,622,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $97.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.38.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.08%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.