Allstate Corp Has $211,000 Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Allstate Corp cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 832 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WBI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 177,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,161,000 after acquiring an additional 82,350 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 8,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 3,601 shares during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 9,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $346,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,060,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,793,000 after acquiring an additional 209,442 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MO traded down $0.06 on Friday, reaching $45.58. 1,318,879 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,502,722. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $46.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.89.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

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.