Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Bcwm LLC

Bcwm LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 102,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,491 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up about 1.7% of Bcwm LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Bcwm LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

MO opened at $52.96 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.50. The firm has a market cap of $90.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly 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). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

About Altria Group

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.