Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Position Cut by Gateway Wealth Partners LLC

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,171 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.79 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.53 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $97.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.63.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

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.