Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold"

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE MO traded down $0.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $59.61. 1,317,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,554,683. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $43.44 and a 52 week high of $60.18. The stock has a market cap of $100.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.92.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The business's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock worth $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock worth $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Altria Group by 48.8% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in Altria Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 54,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 12,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.