Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,574 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,574 shares during the quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Altria Group by 120.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association increased its holdings in Altria Group by 103.9% in the 4th quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,742,000 after acquiring an additional 919,058 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Altria Group by 131.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,418,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,211,000 after acquiring an additional 805,051 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 415.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,935,000 after purchasing an additional 793,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $27,613,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $50.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.27 and its 200 day moving average is $46.77.

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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.