Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia significantly reduced its stake in Altria Group by 73.8%, now holding approximately $11.14 million worth of shares after selling over half a million shares in the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Altria Group are mixed, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $58.13, while some firms have recently upgraded their ratings.
• Altria Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, yielding about 6.5%, reflecting a payout ratio of 78.92%.

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 73.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,591 shares of the company's stock after selling 523,158 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,124,000 after acquiring an additional 983,328 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Altria Group by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323,421 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,569,122 shares of the company's stock worth $343,499,000 after purchasing an additional 805,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,299 shares of the company's stock worth $325,155,000 after purchasing an additional 222,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.61 on Wednesday, reaching $63.13. 6,431,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,834,736. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.49 and a 200-day moving average of $57.58. The company has a market cap of $106.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $63.76.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.02 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.

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.