Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 0.6% - What's Next?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $55.97 and last traded at $56.03. 2,132,668 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 9,005,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MO. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $97.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $56.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Altria Group

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.