Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,358 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,436 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 60.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $256,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $51.04 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.20. The stock has a market cap of $87.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MO. Bank of America upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently 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.