New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 59.9% during the first quarter, selling 111,730 shares, leaving them with 74,925 shares valued at $4.5 million.
• Altria Group reported a Q2 EPS of $1.44, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.37, with revenues rising by 0.2% year-over-year to $5.29 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 6.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 78.92%.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 59.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,925 shares of the company's stock after selling 111,730 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.21. 5,433,128 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,586,698. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $64.35. The company has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50-day moving average is $59.72 and its 200-day moving average is $57.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Citigroup upped their price target 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.13.

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.