Scotia Capital Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 13.2%, owning 77,317 shares after selling 11,718 during the first quarter, valued at approximately $4.64 million.
• Altria Group reported a quarterly EPS of $1.44, beating analyst expectations, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, with a yield of 6.6%.
• Institutional investors currently own 57.41% of Altria Group's stock, with recent movements including GAMMA Investing LLC increasing their stake by 6,969.4% in the first quarter.

Scotia Capital Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,317 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,718 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock worth $129,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,813 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Altria Group by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,811,000 after buying an additional 1,323,421 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in Altria Group by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,894,000 after buying an additional 1,236,782 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2%

MO opened at $61.91 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $59.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.54. The company has a market capitalization of $104.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $62.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MO. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.13.

Altria Group 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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