Valley National Advisers Inc. Sells 7,977 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Valley National Advisers Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 116,693 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,977 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,094 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,870,000 after acquiring an additional 617,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,567,000 after purchasing an additional 915,478 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.93. The company had a trading volume of 3,663,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,117,853. The firm has a market cap of $78.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $47.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.53%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

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.