Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Stake 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 trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 73.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 185,591 shares of the company's stock after selling 523,158 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 88.5% during the first 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 period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of 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 raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,440 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 12.2% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $3,091,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.13.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.12. 2,961,118 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,160,052. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $64.35. The firm has a market cap of $107.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $59.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.70.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 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. Altria Group's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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