Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Sells 8,625 Shares of 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 decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,272 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,625 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 37.8% during the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.13.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MO traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,602,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,245,839. The stock has a market cap of $104.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.57 and a 52 week high of $62.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $59.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.24.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS 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 issued 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 dividend yield of 6.60%. Altria Group's payout ratio 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.