Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was down 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $52.59 and last traded at $52.59. Approximately 1,779,564 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 7,094,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.51%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.