Capital Management Corp VA Sells 7,265 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Capital Management Corp VA trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,416 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,265 shares during the period. Capital Management Corp VA's holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock worth $129,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,813 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Altria Group by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,811,000 after buying an additional 1,323,421 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Altria Group by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,894,000 after buying an additional 1,236,782 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.04. 5,686,380 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,673,871. The company has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.57 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.75.

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.