WMS Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

WMS Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. WMS Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,066,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,000,861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,516,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,184,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,606,259,000 after acquiring an additional 218,861 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,132,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926,492 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 108,222.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,590,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,763,000 after acquiring an additional 18,573,146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $43.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,619,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,640,191. The stock has a market cap of $77.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.35 and a one year high of $51.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.21.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.31. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 27.40% and a negative return on equity of 225.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.97%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.89%.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.