Inlet Private Wealth LLC Sells 1,200 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Inlet Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 1.7% of Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $49.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,872,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,953,209. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $85.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.70.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.18%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.36%.

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.