Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 1,030 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,030 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Certuity LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $51.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $88.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.00 and its 200 day moving average is $46.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MO. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. 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, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

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.