Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Coston McIsaac & Partners

Coston McIsaac & Partners cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,115 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,047 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $3,554,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 75,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,608 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Altria Group by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 103,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after acquiring an additional 8,777 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.42 on Wednesday, hitting $49.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,212,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,875,323. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The company has a market capitalization of $85.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.49 and a 200-day moving average of $47.94.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.22%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

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.