Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 554 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% during the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1 %

MO opened at $53.87 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $91.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.49. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.57%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.17.

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.