Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) fell 0.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $53.28 and last traded at $53.37. 4,563,210 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 7,840,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.