ORG Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

ORG Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 55.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,265 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,821 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MO traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $49.67. 1,175,087 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,020,867. The company has a market capitalization of $85.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Altria Group Company 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.