Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,547 shares of the company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 62,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,001,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,630,000 after purchasing an additional 17,471 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 66,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,992,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7 %

MO stock opened at $50.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $86.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.27.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.07%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

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.