Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Downgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to Hold

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

MO has been the topic of several other reports. 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.81 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.93. The stock had a trading volume of 14,306,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,926,201. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.75. Altria Group has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $60.18. The company has a market capitalization of $97.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.04%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently 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.