Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Bellecapital International Ltd.

Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,342 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,764 shares during the quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 13,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,168,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,637,053. The company has a market capitalization 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $58.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.09. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.92 and a 1-year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

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.