Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 25.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,138,867 shares of the company’s stock after selling 384,800 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $49,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after acquiring an additional 242,442 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,870,000 after purchasing an additional 617,900 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,567,000 after buying an additional 915,478 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4,665.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,972,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,241,000 after buying an additional 3,888,907 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $45.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

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.