HF Advisory Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

HF Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,458 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. Clarity Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 16.2% in the third quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 22,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 353,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,024,000 after purchasing an additional 6,143 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.0% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 17,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 27,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $54.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $92.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.53%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.17.

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.