Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 1.8% – Should You Sell?
by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat GemShares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) were down 1.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $64.90 and last traded at $65.64. Approximately 8,937,154 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 10,136,347 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.81.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.88.
View Our Latest Analysis on MO
Altria Group Price Performance
The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.60. The company has a market cap of $109.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The business had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.
Altria Group Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.16%.
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 488,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,198,000 after acquiring an additional 38,878 shares in the last quarter. Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $251,000. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $715,000. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $334,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.
About Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.
Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.