Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Holdings Decreased by Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc.

Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target 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, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $45.55. The stock had a trading volume of 12,238,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,876,758. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.74. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.61%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.