Leo Wealth LLC Lowers Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Leo Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 989 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $50.06 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.94. The stock has a market cap of $85.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.15%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.