National Bank of Canada FI Has $32.66 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI has reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 56.8%, selling 715,082 shares and now holding 544,155 shares valued at approximately $32.66 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Altria; Barclays raised its target from $49.00 to $57.00 while Morgan Stanley increased its target from $57.00 to $62.00, reflecting varied outlooks on the stock.
• Altria Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 6.4% and indicating a payout ratio of 78.92%.

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 56.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 544,155 shares of the company's stock after selling 715,082 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Altria Group were worth $32,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company's stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.2% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $3,091,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO traded down $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.53. 7,504,688 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,174,366. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.03. The company has a market cap of $110.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $66.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. Altria Group's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Equities research 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

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.