M&R Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,417 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

M&R Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,486 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,417 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,134,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,425,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,790 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 71,579,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,957,671,000 after acquiring an additional 513,208 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 6.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,302,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,896,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178,596 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 0.9% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,220,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,072,000 after acquiring an additional 161,289 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.68% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $45.32 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.33. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.35 and a 1 year high of $57.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.18. Altria Group had a net margin of 22.97% and a negative return on equity of 284.29%. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 23rd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MO. StockNews.com began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.50 to $49.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.13.

Altria Group Profile

(Get Rating)

Altria Group, Inc operates as a holding company, which engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. It operates through the following segments: Smokeable Products, Oral tobacco products, and Wine. The Smokeable Products segment consists of cigarettes manufactured and sold by PM USA and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco manufactured and sold by Middleton.