Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 0.9% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) dropped 0.9% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $57.51 and last traded at $57.39. Approximately 4,237,099 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 8,909,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 3.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The business's fifty day moving average is $55.72 and its 200 day moving average is $53.80.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

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

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.