Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.7% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) dropped 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $56.31 and last traded at $56.53. Approximately 3,201,031 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 8,734,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $58.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.35.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.