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

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 38.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.81. The company had a trading volume of 11,468,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,563,418. The stock has a market cap of $99.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50 day moving average price is $59.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.28. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.27 and a 52 week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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.