Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Center for Financial Planning Inc.

Center for Financial Planning Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 76,004 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 983,328 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.60 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $61.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.04 and a 200-day moving average of $56.17. The company has a market capitalization of $100.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The business 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 business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

About Altria Group

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.