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

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.17.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $49.55 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The stock has a market cap of $85.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.40.

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 negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

Altria Group Company 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.