Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price was down 0.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $49.24 and last traded at $49.35. Approximately 844,112 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 9,916,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $85.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.94.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.19%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 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.