Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. Reduces Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 61.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,496 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,364 shares during the quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 97,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,449,000 after purchasing an additional 4,273 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.4% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 177,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,529 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 568,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,891,000 after buying an additional 61,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 12,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $53.69 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The company has a market cap of $92.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.98.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

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.