Morningstar Investment Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 55.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,440 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,004 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 2.2% during the first quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company's stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Portfolio Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 21,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MO traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $58.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,930,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,678,530. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $47.57 and a one year high of $61.26. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $59.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.