Powers Advisory Group LLC Sells 1,335 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Powers Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the period. Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $45.95. The stock had a trading volume of 3,663,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,576,390. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.83. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The stock has a market cap of $78.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 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 company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

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.