Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 57.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,164 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,981 shares during the quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Altria Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 710,094 shares of the company's stock worth $36,563,000 after acquiring an additional 12,217 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 32,372 shares of the company's stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 172.2% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 70,790 shares of the company's stock worth $3,702,000 after purchasing an additional 44,779 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $58.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.60 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $59.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.58.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.97%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.75.

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.

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.