Ellenbecker Investment Group Sells 2,616 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Ellenbecker Investment Group lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,616 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises about 0.3% of Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 59,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,578,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 70,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,251 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Altria Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank increased its holdings in Altria Group by 117.5% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 5,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.2 %

MO stock opened at $49.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.30%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.