Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,996 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 517,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,996 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

MO traded up $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.79. 504,523 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,769,311. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.05. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $55.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.45%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

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.