Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by AlphaStar Capital Management LLC

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,431 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.71.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE MO opened at $60.24 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.87 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.52.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business 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 was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.77%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.