Stablepoint Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stablepoint Partners LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,802 shares of the company’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 626 Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. 626 Financial LLC now owns 6,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 1,542 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $79,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 280.9% in the first quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 52.5% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MRA Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $272,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $99.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.83 and a 52 week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.89%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from 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.