Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Intellectus Partners LLC

Intellectus Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,463 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,046 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $59.25 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $58.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, 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 results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. Barclays raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.