1834 Investment Advisors Co. Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

1834 Investment Advisors Co. lessened its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,437 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,364 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises approximately 1.0% of 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $543,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 83.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.6% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 25,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 2,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,184 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MO traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.58. The stock had a trading volume of 5,678,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,858,964. The stock has a market cap of $93.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $55.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.48%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.33.

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.