Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 519,794 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,400 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,813 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,782 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 3.2%

MO stock opened at $57.64 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.54 and a 52-week high of $61.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.55. The company has a market capitalization of $97.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.08%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

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.