Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $1.43 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,777 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,729 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.75.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.82. 6,364,526 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,799,226. The company has a market cap of $100.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.57 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $59.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.06.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders 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 6.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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.