Perpetual Ltd Has $1.10 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Perpetual Ltd cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 55.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,386 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,979 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Nadler Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in Altria Group by 11.7% in the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 9,960 shares of the company's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth $214,000. Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 15.1% during the first quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 103,089 shares of the company's stock worth $5,901,000 after buying an additional 13,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $221,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE MO opened at $58.81 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.73 and a 1-year high of $61.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.22 and a 200-day moving average of $56.29. The firm has a market cap of $99.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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