TD Asset Management Inc Trims Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc sold 32,196 shares of Altria Group, reducing its stake by 4.1%, leaving it with 755,946 shares valued at $45.37 million.
• Institutional investors now own approximately 57.41% of Altria Group’s stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Bridgewater Associates, which raised its stake by 86%.
• Altria Group's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $1.23, exceeding estimates, but revenue was down 4.2% year-over-year at $4.52 billion, indicating potential challenges ahead.

TD Asset Management Inc reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 755,946 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,196 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Altria Group were worth $45,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $61.95. 4,410,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,253,704. The business's fifty day moving average is $59.34 and its 200 day moving average is $57.31. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $62.65. The company has a market capitalization of $104.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.13.

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.