Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 5,670 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bard Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,552 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,670 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. My Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 7.3% in the first quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 17,325 shares of the company's stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 24,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,876 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $223,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 903.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 435,182 shares of the company's stock worth $26,120,000 after buying an additional 391,819 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 152.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 78,346 shares of the company's stock worth $4,702,000 after purchasing an additional 47,277 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $59.34. The stock had a trading volume of 5,352,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,625,400. The company's 50 day moving average price is $58.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.08. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.83 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The firm has a market cap of $99.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 6.88%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.34%.

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.