CenterBook Partners LP Decreases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

CenterBook Partners LP reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,078 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,893 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.5%

Altria Group stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $57.96. The company had a trading volume of 12,483,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,683,647. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.73. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.57 and a 12 month high of $61.26. The company has a market capitalization of $97.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus 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.