Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Cuts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 26.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,734 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised 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 buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $52.96 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 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 earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.70%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.