Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 11,718 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Scotia Capital Inc. trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,317 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,718 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,813 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Altria Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,782 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $61.91 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $62.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.54. The company has a market capitalization of $104.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.13.

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.