Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares were down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $57.77 and last traded at $57.92. Approximately 1,505,243 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,564,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $54.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.47. The company has a market cap of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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 forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prostatis Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 5,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,000. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 17,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.