Clarius Group LLC Sells 520 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Clarius Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 520 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 91.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 97,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,978,000 after buying an additional 46,670 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 10,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 4,617 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 5,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 37,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $58.97 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $44.41 and a one year high of $61.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.12. The company has a market cap of $99.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.60.

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 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 business 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 revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.