ERn Financial LLC Sells 264 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

ERn Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $45.46 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $47.19. The firm has a market cap of $78.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.04 and its 200 day moving average is $42.69.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.