Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC Sells 429 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% in the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $54.46 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.29. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.34%.

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.