MAI Capital Management Sells 48,148 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

MAI Capital Management lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 34.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,148 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 85.1% during the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $55.86 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $56.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.47.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.30%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

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.