Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC decreased its stake in Altria Group (NYSE:MO) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,217 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,270 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. HM Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. HM Capital Management LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Strategic Financial Group LLC now owns 3,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank Trust raised its position in Altria Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. First United Bank Trust now owns 2,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.39% of the company’s stock.
Altria Group (NYSE MO) traded up 0.23% during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.45. The company had a trading volume of 4,328,343 shares. The company has a market capitalization of $126.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.62. Altria Group has a one year low of $60.01 and a one year high of $77.79.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. Altria Group had a return on equity of 59.50% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Altria Group will post $3.26 earnings per share for the current year.
Altria Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 27th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 0.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Several research firms have weighed in on MO. BidaskClub lowered Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Cowen and Company reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Piper Jaffray Companies started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.66.
In related news, CEO Martin J. Barrington sold 15,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total transaction of $994,959.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 701,074 shares in the company, valued at $45,590,842.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Munoz sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.35, for a total transaction of $361,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc is a holding company. The Company’s segments include smokeable products, smokeless products and wine. The Company’s subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA Inc (PM USA), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States; John Middleton Co (Middleton), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made cigars and pipe tobacco, and UST LLC (UST), which, through its subsidiaries, including U.S.
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