Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Sells 2,413 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,212 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,413 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 14,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WMG Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.1% during the second quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $53.77 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $53.82. The company has a market cap of $92.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.59%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.08.

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.