Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC Sells 234 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,617 shares of the company’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Baugh & Associates LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 89,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,430,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $434,000. M&G PLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 91,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,680,000 after purchasing an additional 6,041 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.3% in the third quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 3,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 83,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,283,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $53.54 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $55.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.62%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

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.