Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Position Cut by Rogco LP

Rogco LP lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 663 shares during the period. Rogco LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.3% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 103,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after purchasing an additional 8,777 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $166,000. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $265,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 72.3% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 39,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after buying an additional 16,662 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $49.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,519,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,855,675. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $54.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.46 and its 200-day moving average is $47.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.19%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.