Ellsworth Advisors LLC Buys 1,998 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,405 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,998 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $49.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.71. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.21%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.20.

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.