Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,764 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,862 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $50.55 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.83. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $50.85. The firm has a market cap of $86.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.10.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

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

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.