Maia Wealth LLC Has $219,000 Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Maia Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Altria Group by 68.1%, leaving them with 3,831 shares valued at approximately $219,000 after selling 8,172 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple analysts have recently updated their ratings on Altria, with the consensus being a "Hold" rating and a target price of $59.13, while Jefferies Financial Group has issued an "underperform" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, representing a 6.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 78.92%.

Maia Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 68.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,831 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,172 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 153.2% in the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 13,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 8,218 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,071,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,972,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $219,141,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,827,000 after acquiring an additional 441,083 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $65.58. The company had a trading volume of 10,747,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,581,546. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $66.29. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $60.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.17. The stock has a market cap of $110.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. 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 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.