Capital Management Corp VA Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Capital Management Corp VA lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,990 shares during the quarter. Capital Management Corp VA’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $53.88 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $91.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.57%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on 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 lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

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.