Empire Life Investments Inc. Reduces Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. has reduced its holdings in Altria Group by 9.1%, selling 33,575 shares and now owning 336,145 shares, which represent about 1.3% of its portfolio.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $5.29 billion, and a dividend yield of 6.6%.
• Several financial institutions have either acquired new stakes or increased their positions in Altria, indicating a shift in investor interest, with hedge funds currently owning 57.41% of its stock.

Empire Life Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 336,145 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,575 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $20,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $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 worth about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 worth $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,323,421 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake 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 worth $139,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,782 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.20. 3,580,770 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,163,998. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $64.35. The stock has a market cap of $107.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $59.64 and its 200 day moving average is $57.70.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

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.