Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.5% - What's Next?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $53.28 and last traded at $53.37. Approximately 4,563,210 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 7,840,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $92.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.61 and a 200 day moving average of $52.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.51%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 62.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.