Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Compton Financial Group LLC

Compton Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 794 shares during the period. Compton Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 22.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 563,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,712,000 after buying an additional 101,670 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 293.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,480,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after purchasing an additional 722,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 579,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,383,000 after purchasing an additional 26,469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $46.05. The stock had a trading volume of 5,458,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,176,995. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.26 and its 200-day moving average is $42.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

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.