Foundry Partners LLC Sells 25,678 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Foundry Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 458,533 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,678 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up about 1.5% of Foundry Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Foundry Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $27,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.04. 5,686,380 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,685,507. The stock's fifty day moving average is $59.06 and its 200 day moving average is $56.84. The stock has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.57 and a 1-year high of $61.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.03%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.