Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) was down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $50.95 and last traded at $51.22. Approximately 1,847,205 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 4,873,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.94%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd 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. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.