Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV

Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 50.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,394 shares during the quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Severin Investments LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 7,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 202,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,362,000 after purchasing an additional 5,023 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 48,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,242,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Stillwater Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $1,524,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 14.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 32,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,163,000 after buying an additional 4,082 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MO. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $65.09 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.61.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.