Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Cascade Investment Group Inc.

Cascade Investment Group Inc. trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,109 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for about 1.0% of Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 6.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 234,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,216,000 after purchasing an additional 13,696 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 40.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Emprise Bank bought a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its holdings in Altria Group by 10.7% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 59,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $49.91 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $54.95. The stock has a market cap of $85.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.68.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.