Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 517 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,106 shares of the company’s stock after selling 517 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4,665.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,972,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,241,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,907 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $525,810,000. United Services Automobile Association boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.9% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,742,000 after purchasing an additional 919,058 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,567,000 after purchasing an additional 915,478 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

MO opened at $46.05 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19. The stock has a market cap of $79.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.26 and a 200-day moving average of $42.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business 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 last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.