Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,984 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,963 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.1% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 708,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,777,000 after buying an additional 40,646 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Altria Group by 43.7% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 592,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,911,000 after purchasing an additional 180,267 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Altria Group by 71.4% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,383,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,175,000 after purchasing an additional 72,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 21.2% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 74,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 12,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

MO stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.71. The company had a trading volume of 9,398,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,027,411. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.94. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is 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.