Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MO. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MO opened at $44.80 on Thursday. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $47.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.54. The company has a market capitalization of $76.95 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,855,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,666.4% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 4,116 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 20.5% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 20,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,164,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,007,000 after purchasing an additional 77,478 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 562,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,670,000 after purchasing an additional 92,271 shares during the period. 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.