Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Lido Advisors LLC

Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 683,497 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,587 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $45,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172,753 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,122,000 after acquiring an additional 132,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,131,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,412,000 after purchasing an additional 47,757 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $67.96 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $113.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.58. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.82 and a 1-year high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.