Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC Sells 1,020 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,020 shares during the period. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.90. 5,110,019 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,018,909. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.63. The stock has a market cap of $85.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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 company 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on 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 cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.