Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 721,515 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Altria Group by 6.6%, now owning 10,211,318 shares, valued at approximately $612.9 million.
• Altria Group reported earnings of $1.44 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with quarterly revenue hitting $5.29 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, representing an annual yield of 6.5% and a payout ratio of 78.92%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,211,318 shares of the company's stock after selling 721,515 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Altria Group worth $612,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 20,203 shares of the company's stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2,950.0% during the 1st quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the company's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 36.7% during the 1st quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 5,763 shares of the company's stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the company's stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.21. The company had a trading volume of 5,433,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,586,698. The company has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $64.35. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $59.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.78.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 78.92%.

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.