Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its holdings in Altria Group by 67.9%, selling over 206,000 shares during the first quarter and now holding 97,657 shares worth approximately $5.86 million.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share for its last quarter, beating estimates by $0.07, with a revenue of $5.29 billion, slightly above expectations.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, translating to an annual yield of 6.2%, with a payout ratio of 78.92%.

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 67.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,657 shares of the company's stock after selling 206,265 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bulltick Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,831,000. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in Altria Group by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 26,070 shares of the company's stock worth $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 6,266 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,331,031 shares of the company's stock worth $139,908,000 after purchasing an additional 975,506 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Altria Group by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 230,220 shares of the company's stock worth $13,818,000 after purchasing an additional 19,937 shares during the period. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 826,718 shares of the company's stock worth $49,620,000 after purchasing an additional 91,469 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.13.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.58. The company had a trading volume of 10,747,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,581,546. The company has a market cap of $110.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average is $60.18 and its 200-day moving average is $58.17. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $66.29.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 78.92%.

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.