Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,168 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,202 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,168 shares during the period. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake 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 worth $562,793,000 after purchasing an additional 191,236 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $53.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,724,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,547,941. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.02.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.64%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

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.