Valley National Advisers Inc. Has $2.95 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Valley National Advisers Inc. decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,129 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,260 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.81 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.73 and a 52-week high of $61.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.30. The company has a market capitalization of $99.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.61.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 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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