Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Cravens & Co Advisors LLC

Cravens & Co Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 373 shares during the quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $26,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.80. 14,504,145 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,187,076. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.42 and its 200-day moving average is $42.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $47.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid 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 8.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.