Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $50.85 and last traded at $50.91. 1,746,607 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 6,097,403 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $54.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.91.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 729.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,932 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Altria Group by 3,786.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698,585 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.