Rogco LP Reduces Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Rogco LP lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 663 shares during the period. Rogco LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in Altria Group by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,960,000 after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after buying an additional 32,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $49.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,519,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,855,675. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.95. The stock has a market cap of $85.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on 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 target 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.