Hikari Power Ltd Sells 136,100 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hikari Power Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 31.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 297,110 shares of the company's stock after selling 136,100 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Hikari Power Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Hikari Power Ltd's holdings in Altria Group were worth $17,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 37.8% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Skyline Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the first 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. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $58.82 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.17 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $59.20 and its 200 day moving average is $56.26. The stock has a market cap of $99.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.94%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

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.

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