Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Cut by Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Day & Ennis LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.02. 4,044,723 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,584,349. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.56%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Company Profile

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