Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by First Foundation Advisors

First Foundation Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,680 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 14,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $54.12 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS 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 net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 7.54%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

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.