AdvisorNet Financial Inc Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc lowered its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,310 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,701,000 after acquiring an additional 242,442 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,870,000 after buying an additional 617,900 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,567,000 after acquiring an additional 915,478 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,754,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,772,000 after acquiring an additional 54,096 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $50.88. 4,098,466 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,565,557. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $51.40. The company has a market cap of $87.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.08.

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.