Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Sells 620 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $66,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE MO opened at $50.49 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $86.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.25. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $54.95.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.08%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 70.34%.

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.