FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 762 shares during the quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% in 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. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,663,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,576,390. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The stock has a market cap of $78.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.83.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

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.