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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $57.83 and last traded at $57.74. Approximately 1,153,402 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 9,648,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $99.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.42.

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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.