Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Position Decreased by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co lowered its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,720 shares of the company’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 38,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 18,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 55,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 10,417 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Business Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 47.1% during the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 37,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 12,005 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on 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 owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $45.93 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.19. The company has a market cap of $78.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly 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 business 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%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.