Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $49.94 and last traded at $50.01. 920,247 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 9,948,470 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.54 and a 200-day moving average of $47.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.7% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 96,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,209,000 after buying an additional 23,800 shares during the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $253,000. &PARTNERS acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $556,000. Finally, San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.7% in the first quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.