Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by NBC Securities Inc.

NBC Securities Inc. lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,408 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $44.80 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.