Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Alley Investment Management Company LLC

Alley Investment Management Company LLC cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,193 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,787,000 after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,231,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,527,310. The company has a market capitalization of $99.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.89, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.34. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.73 and a 12-month high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.71.

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.