LJI Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,100 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LJI Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. LJI Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the second 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,510,000 after acquiring an additional 243,201 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.6% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in Altria Group by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after acquiring an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.54 on Friday, reaching $55.93. 8,201,730 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,779,230. The firm has a market cap of $94.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $56.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.22.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.29%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

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.