Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Has $5.34 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 117,184 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,419 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises approximately 2.4% of Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 14,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WMG Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.1% during the second quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

MO opened at $53.69 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.98. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The company has a market cap of $92.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.60%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.58.

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.