WP Advisors LLC Sells 1,972 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

WP Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,972 shares during the period. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Altria Group by 66.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 46,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 18,450 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Altria Group by 33.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Rockport Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 45.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 65,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 20,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $55.93 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $56.32. The stock has a market cap of $94.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.29.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.29%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

About Altria Group

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.