Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 0.8% - What's Next?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $52.80 and last traded at $53.04. Approximately 2,588,578 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 6,778,399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $89.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 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. 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 7.77%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Altria Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock worth $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 729.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company's stock worth $100,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Altria Group by 3,786.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company's stock worth $88,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698,585 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Altria Group by 19.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company's stock worth $205,916,000 after acquiring an additional 670,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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.

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