Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Cedar Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Cedar Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group by 15.5%, retaining 99,442 shares, which is now 2.1% of its total holdings.
• Wall Street analysts have varied opinions on Altria Group, with price targets ranging from $50.00 to $62.00 and an average rating of "Hold."
• Altria Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02, yielding 6.6% annually, with a payout ratio of 78.92%.

Cedar Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,442 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,182 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 2.1% of Cedar Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Cedar Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 13.2% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 5,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,946,012 shares of the company's stock worth $116,800,000 after acquiring an additional 65,006 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 15.5% during the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,698 shares of the company's stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock worth $3,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 46,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,766,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.13.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,199,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,213,317. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $62.65. The firm has a market cap of $104.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.43 and a 200-day moving average of $57.54.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.92%.

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.