Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Ignite Planners LLC

Ignite Planners LLC lowered its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,467 shares during the quarter. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their target price 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 upped their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4 %

MO opened at $49.92 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.37. The company has a market cap of $85.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly 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). 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 analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.17%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

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.