Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Cut by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 110,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,560 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 125,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,582,000 after purchasing an additional 21,281 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors grew its position in Altria Group by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 5,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE MO opened at $59.62 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.76 and a 1-year high of $61.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.25 and a 200-day moving average of $56.39. The firm has a market cap of $100.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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 during 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 was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.71.

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.