Vectors Research Management LLC Sells 240 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Vectors Research Management LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Vectors Research Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $518,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $55.40 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.09. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $55.62. The stock has a market cap of $93.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its 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 company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.36%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Altria Group 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.