Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 22,200 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,900 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,200 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE MO traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.74. The company had a trading volume of 10,168,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,637,053. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.92 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The stock has a market cap of $100.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.83%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

About Altria Group

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.