Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 4.2% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) traded down 4.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $56.95 and last traded at $57.05. 11,650,974 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 8,601,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup increased 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. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.75.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.3%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.58. The firm has a market cap of $97.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.06%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.34%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by 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.