Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 1.3% - Time to Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $52.59 and last traded at $52.59. Approximately 1,779,564 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 7,094,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 25.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 457,536 shares of the company's stock worth $23,353,000 after acquiring an additional 93,654 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 10.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 42,263 shares of the company's stock worth $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 4,032 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $828,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Altria Group by 6.8% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 38,192 shares of the company's stock worth $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.