Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was down 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $56.01 and last traded at $56.12. Approximately 1,227,782 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 9,735,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $94.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently 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.