OLD National Bancorp IN Cuts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

OLD National Bancorp IN lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,851 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $59.25 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.83 and a 52-week high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.02.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.