KBC Group NV Decreases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,942 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,649 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,914,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,157,390. The firm has a market cap of $99.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $59.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.36. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.76 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.71.

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.