1834 Investment Advisors Co. Sells 17,565 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• 1834 Investment Advisors Co. reduced its stake in Altria Group by 11.2%, holding 139,237 shares worth approximately $8.36 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Altria Group reported earnings of $1.44 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, with an annualized yield of 6.5% and a payout ratio of 78.92%.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,237 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,565 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises 1.1% of 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.21. 5,433,128 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,586,698. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $64.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MO. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.13.

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.