Sowell Financial Services LLC Lowers Position in Altria Group (MO)

Sowell Financial Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,580 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,443 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for 1.6% of Sowell Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. HM Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 3,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.39% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group (MO) traded down 0.95% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $63.69. 10,210,604 shares of the company traded hands. The company has a market capitalization of $122.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40 and a beta of 0.61. Altria Group has a one year low of $60.01 and a one year high of $77.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 59.50%. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post $3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 27th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Vetr cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $80.38 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, June 19th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Friday, May 26th. Cowen and Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Altria Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies set a $76.00 target price on shares of Altria Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.66.

In related news, CEO Martin J. Barrington sold 15,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total value of $994,959.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 701,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,590,842.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George Munoz sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.35, for a total value of $361,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by 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.