Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,308 shares of the company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MO opened at $49.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $85.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.79. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.22%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.