Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,496 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,600 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 76,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 5,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,742,000. Graver Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $261,000. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenline Partners LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $59.46 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.83 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $58.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

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.