LS Investment Advisors LLC Sells 8,432 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 46.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,817 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,432 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.25. The company had a trading volume of 4,856,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,631,169. The firm's fifty day moving average is $58.45 and its 200-day moving average is $55.99. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.83 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

Altria Group 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.