Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,607 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,371 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,423,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,863,000 after acquiring an additional 8,015 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 53,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 15,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 45.1% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 83,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,798,000 after buying an additional 25,899 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:MO traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.77. 8,010,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,355,649. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $53.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.08.

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.