Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC

Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 56.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 11,779 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 33,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $543,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 169,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $2,633,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 7.8 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $54.46 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.29. The firm has a market cap of $92.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.49%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 70.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

Altria Group Company 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.