Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 333,890 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,119,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 333,890 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.18% of Altria Group worth $136,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $50.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,869,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,663,047. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $50.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.64 and its 200 day moving average is $43.70. The company has a market capitalization of $86.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.77%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.10.

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.