Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Investment Management of Virginia LLC

Investment Management of Virginia LLC decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Investment Management of Virginia LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. HM Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. HM Capital Management LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Strategic Financial Group LLC now owns 3,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank Trust raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. First United Bank Trust now owns 2,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.97% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Altria Group (NYSE MO) opened at 65.52 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.61. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $60.01 and a 12 month high of $77.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 59.50%. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post $3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 13th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 32.19%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 27th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 0.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. BidaskClub raised Altria Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. UBS AG dropped their target price on Altria Group from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Piper Jaffray Companies set a $76.00 target price on Altria Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Vetr raised Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $79.51 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Cowen and Company set a $78.00 price target on Altria Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.91.

In other Altria Group news, Director George Munoz sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.35, for a total value of $361,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc is a holding company. The Company’s segments include smokeable products, smokeless products and wine. The Company’s subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA Inc (PM USA), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States; John Middleton Co (Middleton), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made cigars and pipe tobacco, and UST LLC (UST), which, through its subsidiaries, including U.S.