Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Holdings Cut by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,013 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,260 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Burford Brothers Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 26,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 5,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Busey Bank boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Busey Bank now owns 179,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $49.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $84.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.02.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 70.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.