Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Has $245,000 Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 27.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,981 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,233 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,050,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,166,000 after buying an additional 52,528 shares in the last quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 144.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 11,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 6,585 shares in the last quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 41,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,758,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 884,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,179,000 after buying an additional 10,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 563,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,712,000 after buying an additional 101,670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $45.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.61%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.