Advantage Trust Co Sells 200 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Advantage Trust Co reduced its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its position 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 period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $59.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.28 and its 200 day moving average is $57.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $47.57 and a one year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

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.