Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stake Reduced by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,200 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $59.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.83 and a 12-month high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.83%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.