Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Position Increased by Bellecapital International Ltd.

Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,342 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,764 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.3%

MO stock opened at $59.92 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.08. The company has a market capitalization of $100.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a PEG 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.