Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC Sells 1,156 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 27,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 7,785 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Girard Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Girard Partners LTD. now owns 14,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,094.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 851,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,796,000 after buying an additional 780,000 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 6,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.0 %

MO stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,141,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,619,019. The company has a market cap of $79.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.51 and its 200-day moving average is $41.86. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $46.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.46%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.