Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. Has $1.32 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 38.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,973 shares during the quarter. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in Altria Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skyline Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 2.2% in the first quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company's stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.61. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.22.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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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