Xponance Inc. Lowers Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Xponance Inc. lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 200,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,473 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.92. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

Altria Group 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.