Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 43,017 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 21.0%, selling 43,017 shares and holding a total of 161,737 shares valued at approximately $9.74 million.
• Several institutional investors have modified their positions, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by 6,969.4% and Northern Trust Corp growing its holdings by 9.6%.
• Altria Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, translating to an annual yield of 6.5% and a payout ratio of 78.92%.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,737 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,017 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock worth $129,787,000 after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,782 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.21. 5,433,128 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,586,698. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $64.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. 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. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.13.

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.