Windle Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Windle Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 145,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,547 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises approximately 4.0% of Windle Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Windle Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Altria Group stock opened at $56.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $95.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.38. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $56.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.24%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

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.