Empowered Funds LLC Sells 35,199 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 360,554 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,199 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MO traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.94. 8,196,637 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,779,230. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.54 and a 200 day moving average of $49.13. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $56.32.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

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.