Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,805 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Altria Group by 33.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $54.18 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.47 and its 200 day moving average is $48.66. The company has a market cap of $92.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.53%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on 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 dropped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

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.