Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Bogart Wealth LLC

Bogart Wealth LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 31.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,491 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,696 shares during the quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,793,000 after purchasing an additional 191,236 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Altria Group by 120.6% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 25.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 5.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,510,000 after buying an additional 243,201 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,655,000 after acquiring an additional 215,594 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.77. 1,596,968 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,856,050. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.20%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.20.

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.