Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 3.2% - What's Next?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) dropped 3.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $56.52 and last traded at $57.51. Approximately 5,013,347 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 8,711,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.04 and a 200-day moving average of $55.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. 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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