Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,179 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,426 shares during the period. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ellevest Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 346.7% during the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 670 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 153.8% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 58.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,156,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,749,189. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.00 and a 200 day moving average of $45.59. The stock has a market cap of $78.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.35 and a 12-month high of $51.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.43 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 27.40% and a negative return on equity of 222.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.69%.

Several research firms recently commented on MO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 4th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MO

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.

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