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

Centre Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,715 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,278 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up about 2.7% of Centre Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Centre Asset Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1%

MO stock traded down $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $59.43. The company had a trading volume of 5,320,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,652,622. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.83 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The stock has a market cap of $100.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $58.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.84.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.87%. Altria Group's payout ratio 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.