Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 0.7% - What's Next?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $53.50 and last traded at $53.45. Approximately 1,052,520 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 7,262,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.61. The company has a market cap of $90.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 531,504 shares of the company's stock worth $27,128,000 after buying an additional 24,039 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $290,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 28,058 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 15,500 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,681 shares of the company's stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company's stock worth $74,330,000 after buying an additional 32,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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.