Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Cedar Wealth Management LLC

Cedar Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,846 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,863 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for 2.1% of Cedar Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Cedar Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MO. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $50.23 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.22 and its 200 day moving average is $46.69. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $86.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.12%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

About Altria Group

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.