Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 0.9% - Here's What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $51.26 and last traded at $51.41. 2,313,076 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 6,237,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $87.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.25 and a 200-day moving average of $52.07.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.95%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MO. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 177,034 shares of the company's stock worth $9,257,000 after buying an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,378 shares of the company's stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 5,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 708,088 shares of the company's stock worth $37,026,000 after purchasing an additional 342,953 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 125,488 shares of the company's stock worth $6,562,000 after buying an additional 22,506 shares during the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.