Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Sells 23,922 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 41.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,205 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,922 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,201,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.9% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,742,000 after buying an additional 919,058 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company's stock worth $188,567,000 after acquiring an additional 915,478 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 131.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,418,284 shares of the company's stock worth $57,211,000 after acquiring an additional 805,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Altria Group by 415.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,935,000 after acquiring an additional 793,327 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Altria Group stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.45. 7,658,317 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,727,931. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $47.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.19. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $51.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.