Clarius Group LLC Has $1.05 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Clarius Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 520 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 13,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE MO opened at $58.97 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.12. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.41 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The firm has a market cap of $99.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.92%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.