Financial Sense Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Financial Sense Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,990 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the period. Financial Sense Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% during the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 81,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $45.93 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The firm has a market cap of $78.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.