Cornerstone Advisors LLC Trims Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 66,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group raised 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $51.70 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.00 and its 200-day moving average is $46.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.89%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.36%.

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.