Alps Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 519,794 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,400 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440 shares during the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 115.5% during the 4th quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 7,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.79. 9,428,820 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,665,072. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.11 and a 52-week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The firm's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

Altria Group Company 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.