Thrivent Financial for Lutherans sells 136,470 shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report) by 24.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 432,143 shares of the company’s stock after selling 136,470 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $19,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,097,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,969,000 after buying an additional 42,904 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 88.8% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 599,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,289,000 after purchasing an additional 281,702 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,489,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after buying an additional 11,421 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 6.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 47,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after buying an additional 2,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s shares.

Altria Group’s stock performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $51.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. it has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $51.40, and its two-hundred-day moving average price is $46.98.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. In the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Raises Dividends

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a dividend of $4.08 on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.36%.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67, according to MarketBeat.

Check out Altria Group’s latest stock report

Altria Group Profile

(Free Report)

Altria Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smoking 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; smokeless moist tobacco and snus products under the brands Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal and Husky; oral nicotine pouches under pe! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

See Also

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