Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,859 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 132.2% during the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 9,253 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 22.8% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 72,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after acquiring an additional 13,422 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 11.0% during the second quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 12,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 15.6% during the second quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 22,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,490,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,352,107. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $53.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.86 and a 200 day moving average of $45.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.08.

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.