Bcwm LLC Reduces Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bcwm LLC reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,491 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises approximately 1.7% of Bcwm LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Bcwm LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $52.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 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’s fifty day moving average is $50.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.50.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. 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 7.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

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.