Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,818 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 9.2% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 3,151 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 84,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,690,000 after acquiring an additional 8,562 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 74,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 42,506 shares in the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $266,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 27.2% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 775,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,807,000 after purchasing an additional 165,759 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.43. 6,968,149 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,724,352. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $50.47. The stock has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.61.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.10.

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.