Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 2,583 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,583 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.08.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.32. The company had a trading volume of 7,722,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,574,669. The company has a market capitalization of $88.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $51.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.70.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

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.