Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by IMS Capital Management

IMS Capital Management cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 43.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,255 shares during the quarter. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in Altria Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after buying an additional 5,418 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,960,000 after buying an additional 16,541 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 57,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,304,000 after buying an additional 11,111 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,662,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,285,990. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $51.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.99. The firm has a market cap of $87.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.90.

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.