Dover Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Dover Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 880 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MO traded up $0.05 on Tuesday, reaching $49.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,136,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,019,042. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $85.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.63.

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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MO. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

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.