Phil A. Younker & Associates Ltd. Sells 5,105 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Phil A. Younker & Associates Ltd. lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,177 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,105 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for approximately 1.0% of Phil A. Younker & Associates Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Phil A. Younker & Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $137,536,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock worth $129,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,813 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock worth $466,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323,421 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.8%

MO opened at $59.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.76 and a 1-year high of $61.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.71.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.