First Foundation Advisors cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,404 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after buying an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,870,000 after buying an additional 617,900 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,567,000 after buying an additional 915,478 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %
MO stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.45. 5,776,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,592,368. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.40. The company has a market capitalization of $84.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $49.92.
Altria Group Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.93%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.
Insider Activity at Altria Group
In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.10.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Altria Group
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.
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