Western Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Western Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,847 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Day & Ennis LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $42.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.91 and its two-hundred day moving average 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.32%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.