Compton Financial Group LLC Sells 794 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Compton Financial Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 794 shares during the period. Compton Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.05. 5,458,423 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,176,995. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.78. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $47.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

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

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.