Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 67.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,924 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 13,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.0% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,266,000 after buying an additional 5,414 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 31,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, MBA Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 9.1% during the third quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $50.28. The company had a trading volume of 649,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,786,226. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $86.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.17.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

About Altria Group

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.