Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Foster Group Inc.

Foster Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 25.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,722 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,327 shares during the quarter. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 81,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4 %

MO opened at $45.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.61 and a 200-day moving average of $42.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.63%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MO. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.