Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 0% – Should You Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price fell 0% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $53.91 and last traded at $54.44. 1,948,821 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 9,864,460 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.17.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.6 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.29. The firm has a market cap of $92.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.02. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.54%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during 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.