Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,805 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $250,000. Clarity Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 16.2% in the third quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 22,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 353,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,024,000 after purchasing an additional 6,143 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.0% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 17,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 27,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $54.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.47 and a 200 day moving average of $48.66. The stock has a market cap of $92.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. 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 dividend yield of 7.53%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.