Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.6% – Time to Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares were down 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $49.66 and last traded at $49.78. Approximately 905,348 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 9,873,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $84.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.97.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.20%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 70.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 103,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,505,000 after acquiring an additional 8,777 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $265,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 72.3% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 39,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 16,662 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 388,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,940,000 after acquiring an additional 11,430 shares during the period. Finally, Courier Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 35.2% in the first quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 14,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently 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.