Stokes Family Office LLC Lowers Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stokes Family Office LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,742 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 15,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,315,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,961,852. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.21%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.10.

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.