KPP Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

KPP Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.93. 8,201,730 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,779,230. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $56.32. The company has a market cap of $94.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.59 and a 200 day moving average of $49.22.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

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.