Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 1% – Here’s What Happened

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.45. The company has a market capitalization of $96.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.