Wedmont Private Capital Has $852,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wedmont Private Capital reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,404 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 28.1% in the first quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 7,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Finally, Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 11.4% in the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.05 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.83 and a 12 month high of $61.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.03. The firm has a market cap of $99.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share 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 6.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

Altria Group Company 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.