Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 68.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 774,985 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $16,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 14,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 36,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given 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 price target of $47.08.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MO opened at $53.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $91.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $53.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company 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%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.67%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

Altria Group Company 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.