Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Down 5% Following Weak Earnings

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) traded down 5% on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $47.57 and last traded at $48.01. 5,184,214 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 10,641,981 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.55.

The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.16%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.10.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,423,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,863,000 after buying an additional 8,015 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY grew its position in Altria Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 53,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 15,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 45.1% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 83,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,798,000 after purchasing an additional 25,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% in the second quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 5.0 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.83. The stock has a market cap of $82.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66.

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.