Charles Schwab Trust Co Lowers Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Charles Schwab Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,904 shares of the company’s stock after selling 285 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $59.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.97. The company has a market capitalization of $99.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.83 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group 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.