Wedmont Private Capital Reduces Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wedmont Private Capital cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,043 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,404 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Altria Group were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Altria Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock worth $617,124,000 after purchasing an additional 983,328 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $59.74. 10,168,742 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,645,100. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.83 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.66 and a 200 day moving average of $56.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

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 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date 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.