Colonial River Investments LLC Sells 11,234 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Colonial River Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,234 shares during the quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $54.05 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.50 and a 200 day moving average of $48.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $55.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

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.