Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in 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 period. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. 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, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.25.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.08%. 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%.

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.