Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,467 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% in the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Certuity LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $50.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.77. The firm has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.10%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. 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 report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

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.