Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, now owning a total of 75,272 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Altria Group, with Citigroup raising its price target to $55.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from a "buy" to a "hold" rating.
• Altria Group declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, yielding 6.82%, with a dividend payout ratio of 68.34%.

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,272 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,625 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 144,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,580,000 after purchasing an additional 7,498 shares in the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 126,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,622,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,665,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.75.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $59.82 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.28 and a 200-day moving average of $57.14. The company has a market capitalization of $100.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.57 and a 1-year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.82%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

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.

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