Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Powers Advisory Group LLC

Powers Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $45.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,663,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,576,390. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.83. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group 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.