Invst LLC Sells 13,115 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Invst LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 72.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,109 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,115 shares during the quarter. Invst LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in Altria Group by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 5,418 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,960,000 after purchasing an additional 16,541 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 57,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 11,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research 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 company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $51.07. 12,662,503 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,285,990. The company has a market cap of $87.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $51.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.97.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.