TCTC Holdings LLC Sells 9,656 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

TCTC Holdings LLC cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 356,136 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,656 shares during the quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in the second 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. Fairman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.05. 5,712,292 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,669,546. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.81. The firm has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $55.05.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.33.

About Altria Group

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.