Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Colonial River Investments LLC

Colonial River Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 35.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,769 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,234 shares during the period. Colonial River Investments LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 170.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 101,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,409,000 after purchasing an additional 63,701 shares during the period. PFG Advisors raised its position in Altria Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.2% during the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 3,799 shares of the company's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Altria Group by 36.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,054,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,980,000 after buying an additional 283,069 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.05. 5,712,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,669,546. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $51.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.85. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $55.05. The company has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during 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%. Altria Group's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.33.

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.