SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,061 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in Altria Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 54,684 shares of the company's stock worth $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 12,320 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Altria Group by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,418,074 shares of the company's stock worth $126,441,000 after purchasing an additional 523,146 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,414,856 shares of the company's stock worth $178,563,000 after purchasing an additional 39,341 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 70,826 shares of the company's stock worth $3,703,000 after acquiring an additional 20,309 shares during the period. Finally, First Merchants Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 27,983 shares of the company's stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10,058 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.25. 4,856,074 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,628,405. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.45 and a 200-day moving average of $56.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.83 and a 52-week high of $61.26.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.