Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,586 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.7% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 132,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,802 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,855,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 25.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,337,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,347,000 after acquiring an additional 679,985 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 56,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 25,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MO opened at $44.75 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $76.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.76%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.