Halpern Financial Inc. Sells 330 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Halpern Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $43,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target 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 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MO traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.10. 7,410,989 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,159,582. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.59 and a 200 day moving average of $47.33.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 8.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.