J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,129 shares during the quarter. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $58.81 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.27 and a one year high of $61.26. The firm has a market cap of $99.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.28.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.