Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Sells 6,890 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd has reduced its stake in Altria Group by 2.0%, now holding 330,243 shares valued at approximately $19.2 million.
• Altria Group reported a quarterly EPS of $1.23, surpassing analyst expectations, but experienced a 4.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02, reflecting a dividend yield of 6.82% and a payout ratio of 68.34%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,243 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,890 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Altria Group were worth $19,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.75.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.44. The stock had a trading volume of 12,768,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,223,822. The company has a market capitalization of $101.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.21. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.57 and a 52 week high of $62.21.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.75%. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

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.